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THE  SOCIAL  SCimCE7EAM£Hl^^ 


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ESSENTIALS  IN 
OGRAPHY—  HISTORY—  CIVICS 


BY 

HAROLD  RUGG 
EARLE  RUGG 
EMMA  SCHWEPPE 
OF 

THE  UNCOLN  SCHOOL  OF  TEACHERS  COLLEGE 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE 
IN  AMERICA 


Making  a  Community  Survey 

Small  Town  vs.  Large  City 

How  We  Spend  Our  Leisure  Time 

The  Houses  We  Live  in 

The  Health  of  the  Community 

Groups  in  the  American  Town 

Our  Newspapers  and  Magazines 

The  Schools  of  America 

The  Business  of  City  Government 


AN  EXPERIMENTAL  EDITION 
Of  Pamphlet  No.  3  of  Volume  I:    The  Seventh  Grade  Series 

This  edition  is  published  by  the  authors  for  cO'Operative 
experimentation  in  schools  with  which  arrangements  are 
made.   It  is  not  for  general  commercial  distribution. 


J 


Copyright,  1922,  by  Harold  Rugg,  Earle  Rugg,  and  Emma  Schweppe. 
The  reproduction  of  these  materials  is  expressly  prohibited. 


THIS  is  one  of  The  Social  Science  Pamphlets  for  the  school 
grades  Seven,  Eight,  and  Nine.  Although  these  Pamphlets 
are  not  a  perfected  curriculum,  it  is  necessary  that  they  be  printed 
at  this  time  in  order  to  determine  experimentally  their  reorganiza- 
tion. The  content  that  they  represent  has  been  taught  in^, mimeo- 
graphed form  in  three  grades  of  The  Lincoln  School  of  Teachers 
College,  1920-1922.  For  two  years  and  a  half  the  authors  have 
also  carried  on  curriculum  investigations  seeking  to  validate  the 
content  of  this  social  science  course.  The  present  status  of  thesei  if 
studies  justifies  the  printing  of  a  trial  edition.  The  purpose  of  the 
trial  edition  is  to  determine  by  measured  experimentation  the  grade 
placement  and  teaching  arrangement  of  the  material.  As  a  result 
of  their  cooperative  use  in  public  schools,  1922-1923,  The  Social 
Science  Pamphlets  will  be  revised  and  issued  in  another  experi- 
mental edition  for  use  in  cooperating  schools,  1923-1924. 

A  series  of  monographs  will  be  published  to  accompany  this 
curriculum  which  will  report  the  research  by  which  the  materials 
have  been  selected  and  organized. 


Town  and  City  Life  in  America  is  Pamphlet  No.  3  of 
Vol.  I,  the  Seventh  Grade  Series,  in  a  complete  Seventh,  Eighth, 
and  Ninth  Grade  curriculum  in  geography,  history,  and  civics. 
Four  or  five  pamphlets  will  be  issued  for  each  grade.  They  will 
deal  with  the  following  aspects  of  American  life,  presenting  essen- 
tial contemporary  matters  together  with  needed  historical  back- 
grounds and  geographic  conditions  and  explanations: 

L  Immigration  and  Americanization. 
II.  Conserving  Our  Natural  Resources. 

III.  Industry,  Business,  and  Transportation. 

IV.  Schools,  the  Press,  Public  Opinion. 
V.  The  American  City  and  Its  Problems. 

VI.  The  Culture  of  America  and  of  Other  Lands. 
VII.  Problems  of  Government  in  a  Representative  Democracy, 
VIII.  Primitive  Peoples,  Past  and  Present. 
IX.  America  and  World  AfEairs. 

The  authors  need  cooperation  and  criticism  from  public  schools. 
They  will  welcome  inquiries  and  suggestions  about  this  experi- 
mental work. 


Address  all  inquiries  to :  Harold  Rugg^  The  Lincoln  School, 
425  West  123rd  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


THE  SOCIAL  SCIENCE  PAMPHLETS 


ESSENTIALS  IN 
GEOGRAPHY—  HISTORY—  CIVICS 

BY 

HAROLD  RUGG 
EARLE  RUGG 
EMMA  SCHWEPPE 
OF 

THE  LINCOLN  SCHOOL  OF  TEACHERS  COLLEGE 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE 
IN  AMERICA 

Making  a  Community  Survey 

Small  Town  vs.  Large  City 

How  We  Spend  Our  Leisure  Time 

The  Houses  We  Live  in 

The  Health  of  the  Community 

Groups  in  the  American  Town 

Our  Newspapers  and  Magazines 

The  Schools  of  America 

The  Business  of  City  Government 

AN  EXPERIMENTAL  EDITION 
Of  Pamphlet  No.  3  of  Volume  I:    The  Seventh  Grade  Series 


This  edition  is  published  by  the  authors  tor  co-operative 
experimentation  in  schools  with  which  arrangements  are 
made.    It  is  not  for  general  commercial  distribution. 


HOSE  who  arc  engaged  in  the  making  of  these  materials 


1  of  instruction  believe  that  the  future  of  representative 
democracy  in  America  depends  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  com- 
mon man.  They  believe  that  the  known  facts  of  intelligence  are 
worthy  of  the  hypothesis  that  there  is  in  the  group  mind  sufficient 
capacity  to  express  its  will  effectively  through  industrial,  social, 
and  political  machinery.  This  means  that  potential  capacity 
must  be  transformed  into  dynamic  ability.  They  are  equally  con- 
fident that,  although  America  has  practised  universal  education  on 
a  scale  never  before  attempted  by  a  large  nation,  our  instruction 
has  fallen  far  short  of  preparing  the  rank  and  file  for  the  intelligent 
operation  of  democratic  government. 

After  more  than  a  century  of  democracy,  there  are  signs  of 
serious  import  that  we  are  facing  a  near  impasse  in  citizenship. 
The  impasse,  if  such  it  is,  is  undoubtedly  the  natural  outgrowth  of 
our  spectacular  conquest  of  vast  material  wealth;  of  our  recep- 
tion into  the  country  of  thirty-three  millions  of  people  of  diverse 
races,  nationalities,  practices,  and  beliefs,  and  of  the  massing  of 
human  beings  in  cities  at  a  rate  of  which  we  had  hitherto  not 
dreamed.  The  present  crisis  has  been  brought  about  in  large  part 
by  the  mushroom  growth  of  a  fragile  and  highly  specialized 
mechanism  of  industry,  transportation,  communication,  and 
credit.  With  these  stupendous  material  advances,  resulting  in  the 
artificial  inflation  of  our  economic  and  social  standards  of  liv- 
ing, there  has  not  been  a  parallel  aesthetic,  spiritual,  and  cul- 
tural growth. 

To  relieve  this  impasse,  we  must  substitute  critical  judgment 
for  impulsive  response  as  the  basis  for  deciding  our  social  and 
political  issues.  The  thoroughgoing  reconstruction  of  the  school 
curriculum  is  a  necessary  first  step  in  the  process,  for  the  reason 
that  the  public  school  is  our  most  potent  agency  for  social  regen- 
eration. Especially  through  the  curriculum  in  the  social  sciences 
must  we  subject  our  youth  to  a  daily  regimen  of  deliberation 
and  critical  thought.  Only  those  who  have  been  trained  through 
years  of  practise  in  the  analysis  of  facts,  in  the  making  of  de- 
cisions, the  drawing  of  inferences  and  conclusions,  will  resort  to 
intelligence  instead  of  to  predisposition  as  their  guide  for  con- 
duct. 


The  Social  Science  Pamphlets 
have  been  organized  and  written  with  the  collaboration  of 
Marie  Gulbransen 


A  Foreword  to  the  Teacher  will  be  found  in  Pamphlet  No.  1  of  the 
Seventh  Grade  Series,  "America  and  Her  Immigrants."  This  explains 
how  the  pamphlets  have  been  made,  and  gives  suggestions  for  the  teacher's 
use  of  them.  The  Foreword  has  also  been  reprinted  as  a  separate  folder, 
and  a  copy  will  be  sent  upon  request. 

A  Foreword  to  the  Pupil  will  be  found  in  Pamphlets  No.  1  of  the 
Seventh,  Eighth,  and  Ninth  Grade  Series. 

A  Suggested  Schedule  of  Lessons 

will  be  found  at  the  end  of  this  pamphlet.    We  suggest  that  you  use  it  as  a 
guide  in  planning  your  assignments. 


The  Social  Science  Pamphlets  published  prior  to  March  20,  1923,  are : 

SEVENTH  GRADE  PAMPHLETS 

1.  America  and  Her  Immigrants 

2.  The  City  and  Key  Industries  in  Modern  Nations 

3.  Town  and  City  Life  in  America 

EIGHTH  GRADE  PAMPHLETS 

1.  The  Westward  Movement  and  the  Growth  of  Transportation 

2.  The  Mechanical  Conquest  of  America 

3.  America's  March  Toward  Democracy 

NINTH  GRADE  PAMPHLETS 

1.  Americanizing  Our  Foreign-Born 

2.  Resources  and  Industries  in  a  Machine  World 

3.  Waste  and  Conservation  of  America's  Resources 

The  remaining  pamphlets  to  be  published  before  April  15,  1923,  deal 
with  the  history  of  American  government  (municipal  and  national),  the 
development  of  world  relations  with  special  reference  to  modern  European 
history,  and  historical  examples  of  the  way  people  live  together. 


TO  THE  TEACHER 


After  trying  out  various  plans  for  the  teaching  of  the  social  science 
materials,  we  have  evolved  a  combination  method  of  individual  and  class 
instruction  which  is  proving  very  effective  with  the  pupils  in  The  Lincoln 
School.    We  are  therefore  passing  it  on  to  you. 

Commencing  with  the  third  pamphlet  of  each  series,  the  Social  Science 
Pamphlets  are  organized  with  a  view  to  their  being  taught  on  this  combin- 
ation plan. 

The  materials  of  the  present  pamphlet  have  been  set  up  in  sections, 
each  one  designed  to  occupy  several  class  exercises.  As  each  section  treats 
a  particular  problem  or  group  of  related  problems,  we  suggest  that  it  be 
introduced  informally  by  the  teacher  before  the  class  sets  to  work  on  it. 
Sketch  through  the  section  as  a  whole  in  each  case,  commenting  on  the 
headings  and  outlining  the  main  points  to  be  discussed.  Develop  in  one 
brief  class  discussion  the  theme  of  the  section,  having  in  mind  its  relation 
to  the  general  theme  of  the  entire  pamphlet:  "Town  and  City  Life  in 
America."  Then  let  each  pupil  read  straight  through  the  entire  section 
at  his  own  pace.  Warn  the  pupils  beforehand  that  they  ought  to  accomplish 
the  reading  and  answer  what  questions  there  are  in  about  so  many  lessons 
(whatever  the  Schedule  of  Lessons  at  the  end  of  the  pamphlet  indicates). 
Remind  them  that  when  they  have  finished  the  reading  of  the  sectioK  they 
will  be  expected  to  take  the  test  which  appears  at  the  end  of  it.  As  soon  as 
each  pupil  completes  the  work  of  the  section,  let  him  take  the  test,  answering 
the  questions  on  blank  paper  and  numbering  his  answers  according  to  the 
question  numbers.  The  teacher  will  need  to  work  out  her  own  answer  sheet 
and  have  enough  copies  made  so  that  the  pupils  as  they  finish  the  test  can 
check  their  work  against  it.  Have  them  count  each  point  on  the  test  as  one 
and  total  their  scores.  Pupils  like  to  have  a  quantitative  measure  on  what 
they  have  done.  Do  not  insist  on  their  getting  everything  in  the  test  right, 
but  if  they  fail  on  many  questions  have  them  turn  back  through  the  section 
and  look  up  the  answers. 

As  each  pupil  finishes  the  checking  of  his  test,  let  him  select  other  reading 
to  do,  either  from  the  suggested  reading  lists  or  from  other  pertinent  books 
which  you  may  have  in  your  school  or  city  library.  We  find  it  wise  to  allow 
one  or  two  class  exercises  for  the  more  rapid  pupils  to  do  this  extra  reading. 
At  the  end  of  this  time,  have  a  general  class  discussion  of  the  problems 
treated  in  the  section  and  let  occasional  pupils  make  special  reports  on  their 
extra  reading.  We  make  very  frequent  use  also  of  debates,  the  informal 
kind,  for  which  there  is  no  elaborate  preparation  beforehand. 


SECTION  1. 


WHAT  KIND  OF  A  TOWN  DO  YOU  LIVE  IN  ? 
American  Communities  are  of  all  sorts  and  sizes. 

There  is  the  town  like  Rochester,  New  York,  of  separate  houses  where 
relatively  few  of  the  people  live  in  apartments.  Does  this  description  make 
you  think  of  your  town? 

''Your  Rochesterian,  rich  and  poor,  dwells  in  a  detached  house  on  his 
own  tract  of  land ;  the  chances  are  that  he  has  market-truck  growing  in  his 
backyard,  a  real  kitchen-garden.  There  are  thousands  of  these  little  homes 
in  the  outlying  sections  of  the  town,  with  more  pretentious  ones  lining  East 
avenue  and  the  other  more  elaborate  streets.  All  of  these  taken  together 
are  the  real  regulators  of  the  town.  For  the  citizens  of  Rochester  are  less 
governed  and  themselves  govern  more  than  in  most  places  of  the  size. 
That  is  the  value  of  the  detached  house  to  the  city.  Detached  houses  in  a 
city  seem  to  mean  good  schools,  good  fire  and  police  service,  clean  streets, 
health  protection,  social  progress.    Rochester  has  all  of  these  in  profusion."^ 


Or  is  your  community,  perhaps,  more  like  Pittsburgh,  the  "steel  town?" 
"This  is  Pittsburgh,"  a  visitor  says: 

"Later  that  day  that  same  man  stands  in  another  window — of  a  tall 
skyscraper  this  time — and  again  gazes  down.  Suspended  there  below  him 
is  a  seeming  chaos.  There  are  smoke  and  fog  and  dirt  there,  through  these 
— showing  ever  and  ever  so  faintly — tall,  artificial  cliffs,  punctured  with 
row  upon  row  of  windows,  brightly  lighted  at  midday.  From  the  narrow 
gorges  between  these  cliffs  come  the  rustle  and  the  rattle  of  much  traffic.  It 
comes  to  the,  man  in  waves  of  indefinite  sound. 

"He  lifts  his  gaze  and  sees  beyond  these  artificial  clif¥s,  mountains — real 
mountains — towering,  with  houses  upon  their  crests,  and  steep,  inclined 
railroads  climbing  their  precipitous  sides.  In  these  houses,  also,  there  are 
lights  burning  at  midday.  Below  them  are  great  stacks — row  upon  row  of 
them,  like  coarse-toothed  combs  turned  upside  down — and  the  black  smoke 
that  pours  up  from  them  is  pierced  now  and  then  and  again  by  bright  tongues 
of  flame — the  radiance  of  furnaces  that  glow  throughout  the  night  and  day. 

"  'We're  mud  and  dirt  up  to  our  knees — and  money  all  the  rest  of  the 
way,'  says  the  owner  of  that  office.    He  is  a  native  of  the  city.    He  comes 


1  Hungerford,  Edward:  The  Personality  of  American  Cities,  pag-es  168-169. 
McBride,  Nast  &  Company,  New  York,  1913. 


2 


TOWN   AND   CITY   LIFE   IN  AMERICA 


to  the  window  and  points  to  one  of  the  rivers — a  yellow-brown  mirrored 
surface,  scarcely  glistening  under  leaden  clouds  but  bearing  long  tows  by 
the  dozen — coal  barges,  convoyed  by  dirty  stern-wheeled  steamboats."^ 


Perhaps  your  home  town  has  all  the  variety  of  the  one  described  so  well 
by  Sinclair  Lewis  in  his  portrayal  of  a  typical  American  city. 

"The  bungalows  and  shrubs  and  winding  irregular  driveways  of  Floral 
Heights.  The  one-story  shops  on  Smith  Street,  a  glare  of  plate-glass  and 
new  yellow  brick;  groceries  and  laundries  and  drug  stores  to  supply  the  more 
immediate  needs  of  East  Side  housewives.  The  market  gardens  in  Dutch 
Hollow,  their  shanties  patched  with  corrugated  iron  and  stolen  doors.  Bill- 
boards with  crimson  goddesses  nine  feet  tall  advertising  cinema  films,  pipe 
tobacco,  and  talcum  powder.  The  old  'mansions'  along  Ninth  Street,  S.  E., 
like  aged  dandies  in  filthy  linen ;  wooden  castles  turned  into  boarding  houses, 
with  muddy  walks  and  rusty  hedges,  jostled  by  fast-intruding  garages, 
cheap  apartment-houses,  and  fruitstands  conducted  by  bland,  sleek  Athen- 
ians. Across  the  belt  of  railroad-tracks,  factories  with  high-perched  water- 
tanks  and  tall  stacks — factories  producing  condensed  milk,  paper  boxes, 
lighting-fixtures,  motor  cars.  Then  the  business  center,  the  thickening  dart- 
ing traffic,  the  crammed  trolleys  unloading,  and  high  doorways  of  marble 
and  polished  granite."  ^ 


Does  your  community  like  so  many  American  cities  aspire  after  bigness, 
rapid  growth,  speed  in  everything?  That  means  great  factories,  rich  banks, 
parks,  a  huge  number  of  automobiles, — bigger  schools,  bigger  buildings, 
bigger  bank  clearings.  Is  its  one  great  ambition  to  grow  bigger  and  bigger 
in  every  way?    Is  your  town  like  Zenith  that  Lewis  describes? 

"  'It  is  true  that  even  with  our  361,000  or  practically  362,000,  popula- 
tion, there  are,  by  the  last  census,  almost  a  score  of  larger  cities  in  the  United 
States.  But,  gentlemen,  if  by  the  next  census  we  do  not  stand  at  least  tenth, 
then  I'll  be  the  first  to  request  any  knocker  to  remove  my  shirt  and  to  eat 
the  same,  with  the  compliments  of  G.  F.  Babbitt,  Esquire !  It  may  be  true 
that  New  York,  Chicago,  and  Philadelphia  will  continue  to  keep  ahead  of 
us  in  size.  But  aside  from  these  three  cities,  which  are  notoriously  so  over- 
grown that  no  decent  white  man,  nobody  who  loves  his  wife  and  kiddies 
and  God's  good  out-o'-doors  and  likes  to  shake  the  hand  of  his  neighbor  in 
greeting,  would  want  to  live  in  them — and  let  me  tell  you  right  here  and 
now,  I  wouldn't  trade  a  high-class  Zenith  acreage  development  for  the 

1  Hungerford,  Edward:  Op.  cit.,  page  172. 

^  Lewis,  Sinclair:  Babbitt,  page  .31.  Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company,  New  York, 
19-22. 


AMERICAN  TOWNS  IN  PROCESSION 


3 


whole"  length'  and  breadth  of  Broadway  or  State  Street — aside  from  these 
three,  it's  evident  to  any  one  with  a  head  for  facts  that  Zenith  is  the  finest 
example  of  American  life  and  prosperity  to  be  found  anywhere! 

"  'Oh,  we  have  a  golden  roster  of  cities — Detroit  and  Cleveland  with 
their  renowned  factories,  Cincinnati  with  its  great  machine-tool  and  soap 
products,  Pittsburgh  and  Birmingham  with  their  steel,  Kansas  City  and 
Minneapolis  and  Omaha  that  open  their  bountiful  gates  on  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean-like  wheatlands,  and  countless  other  magnificent  sister-cities,  for,  by 
the  last  census,  there  were  no  less  than  sixty-eight  glorious  American  burgs 
with  a  population  of  over  one  hundred  thousand!  And  all  these  cities 
stand  together  for  power  and  purity,  and  against  foreign  ideas  and  commun- 
ism— Atlanta  with  Hartford,  Rochester  with  Denver,  Milwaukee  with  In- 
dianapolis, Los  Angeles  with  Scranton,  Portland,  Maine,  with  Portland, 
Oregon.  A  good  live  wire  from  Baltimore  or  Seattle  or  Duluth  is  the  twin- 
brother  of  every  like  fellow  booster  from  Buffalo  or  Akron,  Fort  Worth  or 
Oskaloosa!  .  .  . 

"  'I  tell  you,  Zenith  and  her  sister-cities  are  producing  a  new  type  of 
civilization.  There  are  many  resemblances  between  Zenith  and  these  other 
burgs,  and  I'm  glad  of  it!  The  extraordinary,  growing,  and  sane  stand- 
ardization of  stores,  offices,  streets,  hotels,  clothes,  and  newspapers  through- 
out the  United  States  shows  how  strong  and  enduring  a  type  is  ours.' 

Does  this  next  quotation  make  you  think  of  your  town? 

"The  civilization  of  America  is  predominantly  the  civilization  of  the 
small  town.  The  few  libertarians  and  cosmopolites  who  continue  to  pro- 
fess to  see  a  broader  culture  developing  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  resent 
this  fact,  though  they  scarcely  deny  it.  They  are  too  intelligent,  too  wid- 
ened in  vision  to  deny  it.  They  cannot  watch  the  tremendous  growth  and 
power  and  influence  of  secret  societies,  of  chambers  of  commerce,  of  boost- 
ers' clubs,  of  the  Ford  car,  of  moving  pictures,  of  talking  machines,  of  evan- 
gelists, of  nerve  tonics,  of  the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  of  Browning  soci- 
eties, of  circuses,  of  church  socials,  of  parades  and  pageants  of  every  kind 
and  description,  of  family  reunions,  of  pioneer  picnics,  of  county  fairs,  of 
firemen's  conventions  without  secretly  acknowledging  it.  And  they  know, 
if  they  have  obtained  a  true  perspective  of  America,  that  there  is  no  section 
of  this  vast  political  unit  that  does  not  possess — and  even  frequently  boast — 
these  unmistakably  provincial  signs  and  symbols."^ 


There  are  small  communities  in  our  country  without  paved  streets  and 
electric  lights,  without  water  and  sewage  systems,  without  theatres,  or 

1  Lewis,  Sinclair:    Op.  cit.,  pages  180-181,  183-184,  184. 

2  Stearns,  Harold  E.  (Editor) :  Civilization  in  the  United  States.  Essay  on 
"The  Small  Town"  by  Louis  R.  Reid.  Harcourt,  Brace  and  Company,  New  York, 
1922. 


4 


TOWN   AND  CITY  LIFE 


IN  AMERICA 


schools  or  any  of  the  outward  signs  of  civilization.  We  are  sure  your  com- 
munity cannot  be  anything  like  the  one  described  in  the  next  quotation.  But 
it  is  included  so  that  you  will  know  the  different  conditions  under  which 
human  beings  have  to  live. 

Describing  his  trip  to  the  Elk  Basin  oil  field  in  Wyoming,  the  author  of 
the  article  says : 

"The  oil  produced  in  the  Elk  Basin  Field  is  a  very  high-grade  light 
crude  and  is  similar  to  that  produced  in  the  Grass  Creek  Field.  The  mar- 
keted production  from  the  Elk  Basin  Field  was  third  largest  in  the  state 
during  1916  and  1917,  and  since  1917  it  has  ranked  fourth.  .  . 

"At  the  end  of  two  hours  of  heavy  going  across  a  bleak  waste  of  sage 
brush  we  pitched  sharply  down  over  the  rimrock  and  slid  with  screeching 
brakes  down  the  long  Mormon  Hill  into  the  Basin.  It  was  literally  a  'hole 
in  the  ground,'  gouged  out  of  the  naked  clay  and  sandstone,  a  mile  wide, 
three  miles  long,  and  perhaps  three  hundred  feet  deep.  Huddled  in  the 
bottom  were  the  gray  mass  of  the  gasoline  plant  buildings,  and  a  motley  as- 
sortment of  tents,  tar-paper  shacks  and  slate-colored  company  bungalows, 
while  the  gaunt  skeletons  of  the  oil  derricks  and  the  bleak  little  corrugated 
iron  pump  houses  cluttered  the  fringes.  No  water,  no  trees,  no  grass — not  a 
living  growing  thing  in  sight  save  the  straggling  sage  brush.  Scattered 
over  the  desolate  floor  of  the  Basin  between  four  and  five  hundred  people 
were  living  the  long  six-and-one-half  and  seven-day  week  of  the  oil  fields."^ 


Is  your  town,  perhaps,  a  typical  county  seat  in  the  middle  western  prairie 
land?  A  town  of  two,  three,  four,  maybe  six  thousand  souls?  A  town  of 
bumpy  brick-paved  streets  radiating  out  from  the  county  court  house?  Built 
in  the  1870's  of  the  prevailing  architecture  of  the  time  and  the  region,  it 
still  remains  the  center  of  business  of  the  town.  To  the  old  wooden  railing 
stretching  around  the  Court  House  Square,  were  tied  the  farm  horses  in 
the  days  before  the  automobile.  Now  in  their  places  are  the  mud  splattered 
"flivvers,"  Maxwells  and  Buicks,  doing  service  for  either  freight  or  pas- 
sengers. There  on  the  east  side  the  Citizens  Trust  dominates  the  business 
of  the  sunny  side  of  the  square,  rising  a  full  story  above  its  comrades  of  two- 
story  salmon  colored  brick.  At  intervals  the  sky  line  is  broken  by  one-story 
rickety  frame  buildings  with  an  occasional  false  front,  deceiving  no  one  in 
its  attempt  to  assume  second  story  dignity. 

Scattered  around  the  four  sides  of  the  square  can  be  found  on  the  shabby 
side  the  quick  lunch  room,  the  old  livery  stable  transformed  into  a  garage, 
and  the  barber  shop.    On  the  more  prosperous  sides  are  located  the  family 


iLynd,  Robert  S. :    Done  in  Oil.    The  Survey.    November  1,  1922. 


AMERICAN  TOWNS  IN  PROCESSION 


5 


restaurant  where  touring  autoists  stop,  clothing  shops,  grocery  stores  and 
the  bank,  through  whose  imposing  windows  may  be  seen  its  well-dressed  staff 
working  behind  the  dignified  grillwork. 

The  "general  store"  is  no  longer  in  evidence,  the  small-town  "department 
store"  has  come  to  take  its  place.  One  central  brick  school  building  there, 
of  twelve  rooms,  is  housing  children  all  the  way  from  the  first  grade  to  the 
last  year  of  the  high  school.  A  library — yes,  a  Carnegie  one — ^just  a  block 
off  the  square. 


Or  is  your  community  more  like  a  New  England  village  with  white 
painted  houses  straggling  along  the  wide  gravel  main  street,  flanked  on  each 
side  by  spreading  elm  trees,  with  its  shady  green  "common"  and  its  town 
hall.  Perhaps  a  white  painted  spire  or  two  glistens  above  the  trees.  If  your 
town  is  such  a  community  of  say  a  thousand  human  beings,  it  too  probably 
has  its  little  general  store,  its  humming  electric  trolley  or  interurban  line 
tying  it  to  the  outside  world.  On  the  news-stand  in  the  store  are  just  a 
few  magazines  or  books. 


Through  the  breadth  of  the  land,  however,  there  are  hundreds  of  "small 
towns"  something  like  Gopher  Prairie.  Is  your  community  of  the  type  de- 
scribed in  the  next  quotations? 

"When  Carol  had  walked  for  thirty-two  minutes  she  had  completely 
covered  the  town,  east  and  west,  north  and  south ;  and  she  stood  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Main  Street  and  Washington  Avenue  and  despaired. 

"Main  Street  with  its  two-story  brick  shops,  its  story-and-a-half  wooden 
residences,  its  muddy  expanse  from  concrete  walk  to  walk,  its  huddle  of 
Fords  and  lumber-wagons,  was  too  small  to  absorb  her.  The  broad,  straight, 
tmenticing  gashes  of  the  streets  let  in  the  grasping  prairie  on  every  side. 
She  realized  the  vastness  and  the  emptiness  of  the  land.  The  skeleton  iron 
windmill  on  the  farm  a  few  blocks  away,  at  the  north  end  of  Main  Street, 
was  like  the  ribs  of  a  dead  cow.  .  . 

"She  trailed  down  the  street  on  one  side,  back  on  the  other,  glancing  in- 
to the  cross  streets.  It  was  a  private  Seeing  Main  Street  tour.  She  was 
within  ten  minutes  beholding  not  only  the  heart  of  a  place  called  Gopher 
Prairie,  but  ten  thousand  towns  from  Albany  to  San  Diego: 

"Dyer's  Drug  Store,  a  corner  building  of  regular  and  unreal  blocks  of 
artificial  stone.  Inside  the  store,  a  greasy  marble  soda-fountain  with  an 
electric  lamp  of  red  and  green  and  curdled  yellow  mosaic  shade.  Pawed- 
over  heaps  of  tooth-brushes  and  combs  and  packages  of  shaving-soap.  Shelves 
of  soap-cartons,  teething-rings,  garden-seeds,  and  patent  medicines  in  yellow 


6 


J  OWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


pack:ag;es — nostrums  for  consumption,  for  'women's  diseases' — notorious 
mixtures  of  opium  and  alcohol,  in  the  very  shop  to  which  her  husband  sent 
patients  for  the  filling  of  prescriptions. 

"From  a  second-story  window  the  sign  'W.  P.  Kennicott,  Phys.  &  Sur- 
geon,' gilt  on  black  sand. 

"A  small  wooden  motion-picture  theatre  called  'The  Rosebud  Movie 
Palace.'    Lithographs  announcing  a  film  called  'Fatty  in  Love.' 

"Rowland  and  Gould's  Grocery.  In  the  display  window,  black,  over- 
ripe bananas  and  lettuce  on  which  a  cat  was  sleeping.  Shelves  lined  with 
red  crepe  paper  which  was  now  faded  and  torn  and  concentrically  spotted. 
Flat  against  the  wall  of  the  second  story  the  signs  of  lodges — the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Maccabees,  the  Woodmen,  the  Masons.  .  . 

"A  clothing  store  with  a  display  of  'ox-blood-shade  Oxfords  with  bull- 
dog toes.'  Suits  which  looked  worn  and  glossless  while  they  were  still  new, 
flabbily  draped  on  dummies  like  corpses  with  painted  cheeks. 

"The  BonTon  Store — Haydock  and  Simons' — the  largest  shop  in  town. 
The  first-story  front  of  clear  glass,  the  plates  cleverly  bound  at  the  edges 
with  brass.  The  second  story  of  pleasant  tapestry  brick.  One  window  of 
excellent  clothes  for  men,  interspersed  with  collars  of  floral  pique  which 
showed  mauve  daisies  on  a  saffron  ground.  Newness  and  an  obvious  notion 
of  neatness  and  service.    Haydock  &  Simons.  .  . 

"Axel  Egge's  General  Store,  frequented  by  Scandinavian  farmers.  In 
the  shallow  dark  window-space  heaps  of  sleazy  sateens,  badly  woven  gal- 
ateas,  canvas  shoes  designed  for  women  with  bulging  ankles,  steel  and  red 
glass  buttons  upon  cards  with  broken  edges,  a  cottony  blanket,  a  granite-ware 
frying-pan  reposing  on  a  sun-faded  crepe  blouse. 

"Sam  Clark's  Hardware  Store.  An  air  of  frankly  metallic  enterprise. 
Guns  and  churns  and  barrels  of  nails  and  beautiful  shiny  butcher  knives. 

"Chester  Dashaway's  House  Furnishing  Emporium.  A  vista  of  heavy 
oak  rockers  with  leather  seats,  asleep  in  a  dismal  row. 

"Billy's  Lunch.  Thick  handleless  cups  on  the  wet  oilcloth-covered 
counter.  An  odor  of  onions  and  the  smoke  of  hot  lard.  In  the  doorway  a 
young  man  audibly  sucking  a  tooth-pick. 

"The  warehouse  of  the  buyer  of  cream  and  potatoes.  The  sour  smell, 
of  a  dairy. 

"The  Ford  Garage  and  the  Buick  Garage,  competent  one-story  brick 
and  cement  buildings  opposite  each  other.  Old  and  new  cars  on  grease- 
blackened  concrete  floors.  Tire  advertisements.  The  roaring  of  a  tested 
motor ;  a  racket  which  beat  at  the  nerves.  Surly  young  men  in  khaki  union- 
overalls.    The  most  energetic  and  vital  places  in  town. 

"A  large  warehouse  for  agricultural  implements.  An  impressive  barri- 
cade of  green  and  gold  wheels,  of  shafts  and  sulky  seats,  belonging  to  ma- 


AMERICAN  TOWNS  IN  PROCESSION 


7 


chinery  of  which  Carol  knew  nothing — potato-planters,  manure  spreaders, 
silage-cutters,  disk-harrows,  breaking-plows. 

"A  feed  store,  its  windows  opaque  with  the  dust  of  bran,  a  patent  medi- 
cine advertisement  painted  on  its  roof. 

"Ye  Art  Shoppe,  Prop.  Mrs.  Mary  Ellen  Wilks,  Christian  Science  Li- 
brary open  daily  free.  A  touching  fumble  at  beauty.  A  one-room  shanty 
of  boards  recently  covered  with  rough  stucco.  .  . 

"A  barber  shop  and  pool  room.  A  man  in  shirt  sleeves,  presumably 
Del  Snafflin  the  proprietor,  shaving  a  man  who  had  a  large  Adam's  apple. 

"Nat  Hick's  Tailor  Shop,  on  a  side  street  off  Main.  A  one-story  build- 
ing. A  fashion-plate  showing  human  pitchforks  in  garments  which  looked 
as  hard  as  steel  plate. 

"On  another  side  street  a  raw  red-brick  Catholic  Church  with  a  var- 
nished yellow  door. 

"The  post-office — merely  a  partition  of  glass  and  brass  shutting  off  the 
rear  of  a  mildewed  room  which  must  once  have  been  a  shop.  A  tilted  writ- 
ing-shelf against  a  wall  rubbed  black  and  scattered  with  official  notices  and 
army  recruiting-posters. 

"The  damp,  yellow-brick  schoolbuilding  in  its  cindery  grounds. 

"The  State  Bank,  stucco  masking  wood. 

"The  Farmers'  National  Bank.    An  Ionic  temple  of  marble.    Pure,  ex- 
quisite, solitary.    A  brass  plate  with  'Ezra  Stowbody,  Pres't. 
"A  score  of  similar  shops  and  establishments. 

"Behind  them  and  mixed  with  them,  the  houses,  meek  cottages  of  large, 
comfortable,  soundly  uninteresting  symbols  of  prosperity."^ 


America  is  a  Country  of  Small  Towns  and  Cities 

There  are  small  manufacturing  towns.  New  England  villages, 
muddy  Kansas-Nebraska-Missouri  towns,  county  seats,  oil  or 
automobile  "boom"  towns,  college  towns,  suburban  residence 
towns,  shoe  towns,  steel  towns,  coal  towns,  river  towns,  rail- 
road-shop towns,  retired-farmer  towns,  cotton  or  woolen  mill 
towns,  machine-shop  towns,  port  towns,  fish  towns,  lumber 
towns,  mining  towns! 

What  kind  of  a  town  is  yours  ?  Does  it  belong  under  any  of  these  classi- 
fications?   If  not,  see  if  you  can  describe  it. 


The  various  kinds  of  American  towns  and  cities  have  moved  before  our 
eyes.    All  sorts  and  sizes  they  are  indeed.    Great  hustling  metropolitan 

1  Lewis,  Sinclair:  Main  Street,  pages  33-37.  Harcourt  Brace  and  Company, 
New  York,  1921. 


8 


TOWN   AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


cities  and  small  placid  sleepy  villages  stand  side  by  side.  Steel  towns,  shoe 
towns,  furniture  towns,  breakfast  food  towns,  coal  towns,  oil  towns,  port 
cities,  railroad  centers,  fine  suburban  communities,  and  many  other  types 
are  scattered  over  the  landscape  of  America. 

Which  Kind  of  Town  do  You  Live  in? 

Just  what  kind  of  a  town  you  live  in  is  the  next  thing  for  you  to  learn 
about  through  your  work  in  the  social  science  class.  Probably  the  best  way 
to  do  it  is  to  make  a  "survey"  of  your  own  community.  Do  you  know  what 
a  survey  is?  It  is  a  study  of  what  the  community  is,  where  it  is,  its  people, 
its  size,  whether  it  is  growing  or  not,  and  why.  You  will  need  to  make  maps 
of  the  community.  You  will  need  to  investigate  the  kinds  of  population  in 
it,  to  study  its  streets  and  recreation  centers,  its  industries  and  its  businesses, 
to  find  out  the  way  it  protects  the  health  of  its  citizens  and  their  lives  and 
property,  and  the  way  it  is  governed — whether  by  a  mayor  and  council,  a 
commission,  or  perhaps  a  city-manager.  By  doing  all  such  things  you  will 
become  really  acquainted  with  your  community,  but  better  than  that,  you 
will  learn  the  ways  in  which  American  communities  should  be  improved. 


Things  you  will  want  to  look  for  as  you  and  your 
class-mates  make  a  survey  of  your  own  community. 

1.  HOW  IS  THE  TOWN  LAID  OUT?  Where  is  the  business  section?  The 
railroads  and  terminals?  Wharves,  if  a  port  city?  The  manufacturing 
district  if  there  is  one?  Perhaps  the  manufacturing  is  scattered  all  over 
town,  and  the  residences,  too.  Or  are  the  residences  all  in  one  district? 
Where  are  the  municipal  government  buildings?  The  schools?  The  play- 
grounds and  parks?  Where  does  the  city  dispose  of  its  garbage  and  sewage? 
Are  there  any  historic  homes  and  public  buildings? 

2.  THE  AMOUNT  OF  ITS  POPULATION.  How  large  IS  it  now?  Where 
does  it  stand  in  population  in  the  towns  of  your  state?  Are  there  many 
towns  in  the  United  States,  or  in  your  state,  of  about  the  same  size? 

3.  IS  THE  POPULATION  GROWING  LARGER?  Or  is  it  Standing  still?  Is 
it  perhaps  becoming  smaller?    Why  is  it  growing  or  remaining  stationary? 

4.  WHAT  KINDS  OF  MANUFACTURING  AND  BUSINESS  ARE  GOING  ON 

IN  YOUR  TOWN?  Are  there  machine  shops?  Cotton,  woolen,  or  silk  mills? 
Spinning  or  weaving  mills?  Canning  factories?  Grain  mills  or  elevators? 
Automobile  factories?  Large  department  stores?  Is  it  a  banking  center? 
Are  there  large  real  estate  companies?  Perhaps  there  is  no  manufacturing 
going  on  at  all. 


TOPICS  FOR  YOUR  STUDY 


9 


5.  DOES  THE  KIND  OF  BUSINESS  AND  INDUSTRY  OF  THE  TOWN  DETER- 
MINE THE  KIND  OF  PEOPLE  WHO  LIVE  THERE?  Are  there  large  numbers 
of  immigrants?  What  kinds  of  work  do  they  do?  What  work  do  the 
native  Americans  do  in  your  town? 

6.  WHAT    KINDS    OF    SOCIAL    ORGANIZATIONS    ARE    THERE    IN  YOUR 

TOWNf  Americans  are  known  to  be  "joiners."  They  have  countless  organ- 
izations of  all  sorts  and  types.  Nothing  is  more  important  in  American 
community  life.  What  organizations  do  you  have  in  your  community? 
Civic  associations?  Business  men's  clubs?  Women's  clubs?  Fraternal 
societies?  Labor  unions?  Churches?  Lyceum  or  Chautauqua?  Charity 
organizations?  Boy  and  girl  scouts?  Such  organizations  will  be  studied 
in  your  survey  of  your  community. 

7.  HOW  ARE  THE  PEOPLE  OF  YOUR  COMMUNITY  HOUSED?  Do  mOSt 

of  them  live  in  separate  houses,  or  in  apartments?  How  many  and  what 
proportion  own  their  own  homes?  How  many  rent?  How  many  people 
on  the  average  live  in  each  home?  Are  houses  congested?  Is  there  a  dif- 
ference in  this  respect  in  different  parts  of  the  town  ?  What  are  the  health 
conditions  of  the  homes?    Are  buildings  up  to  standard  of  fire  protection? 

8.  PROVISIONS  FOR  COMMUNITY  RECREATION.  How  adequate  are  the 
parks  and  playgrounds?  Does  growing  "young  America"  have  a  fair 
chance?  What  is  the  character  of  the  indoor  entertainments  of  the  com- 
munity? Are  there  theatres,  movies,  dance  halls,  club  and  lodge  meetings, 
young  people's  community  meetings? 


9.  HOW  DOES  THE  COMMUNITY  GOVERN  ITSELF?  Does  it  have  a  mayor 
and  council?  Is  representation  and  election  on  the  "ward"  plan  or  are 
officials  chosen  "at  large"?  •  Is  the  "commission"  plan  employed?  Or  even 
the  city-manager  ?  What  are  the  advantages  of  these  various  plans  of  munic- 
ipal government?  What  are  the  weaknesses?  We  must  debate  these  ques- 
tions in  class. 

10.  HOW  DOES  THE  COMMUNITY  RAISE  THE  MONEY  TO  RUN  THE  MU- 
NICIPAL GOVERNMENT?  It  costs  a  great  deal  to  carry  on  the  government — 
to  pay  the  mayor  and  the  aldermen,  the  policemen,  the  firemen,  to  run  the 
water,  health,  and  street  departments,  and  the  schools.  So  it  is  very  im- 
portant to  know  how  enough  money  is  to  be  secured  to  do  all  these  things. 
Shall  it  be  by  taxes  ?  Who  should  pay  taxes  and  how  much  ?  Should  bonds 
be  issued  ?  These  are  the  kinds  of  questions  to  which  we  will  have  to  find 
the  answers. 

11.  HOW  DOES  THE  MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT  PROTECT  THE  HEALTH 

OF  THE  CITIZENS?   What  does  the  health  department  do?    Does  it  reduce 


10 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


the  death  rate  ?  How  is  food  inspected  and  cleanliness  insured  ?  How  does 
the  city  dispose  of  garbage  and  sewage?  What  provisions  are  made  to  in- 
sure pure  water? 

12.  HOW  DOES  THE  COMMUNITY  EDUCATE  ITS  FUTURE  CITIZENS?  Are 

there  elementary  schools  in  your  community?  High  schools?  A  college? 
A  business  college?  Is  there  a  technical  school  or  a  trade  school?  Do  all 
pupils  in  your  schools  go  on  through  high  school?  Do  all  or  nearly  all  go 
to  college?  Do  some  children  leave  at  the  sixth  grade?  Eighth?  How 
well  do  5^our  schools  prepare  young  people  for  the  tasks  of  life? 

13.  HOW  DOES  THE  COMMUNITY  PROTECT  THE  LIVES  AND  THE  PROP- 
ERTY OF  ITS  CITIZENS?  Does  your  community  have  an  efficient  fire  de- 
partment? Police  department?  Is  the  fire  apparatus  up-to-date?  Is  the 
water  pressure  great  enough  for  the  tops  of  the  tallest  buildings?  How  are 
the  courts  run? 

14.  WHAT  WAYS  ARE  THERE  FOR  THE  CITIZENS  OF  YOUR  COMMUNITY 
TO  LEARN  ABOUT  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  EITHER  THE  COMMUNITY  OR  THE 

OUTSIDE  WORLD?  Are  there  local  newspapers?  What  kinds  of  happenings 
do  they  report?  Are  metropolitan  newspapers  sold  in  the  town?  Do  the 
people  appear  to  read  pretty  widely?  Do  they  discuss  public  matters? 
Where  do  they  get  their  opinions?  Are  magazines  of  political,  industrial, 
and  social  affairs  widely  read?  Are  such  matters  discussed  in  the  churches 
of  the  town?  Are  there  public  lyceums  or  lecture  courses  which  many  of  the 
citizens  of  your  community  attend  ? 


SECTION  II 


HOW  TO  ORGANIZE  YOUR  CLASS  TO  MAKE  A  SURVEY 
OF  YOUR  OWN  COMMUNITY 

To  make  a  survey  of  your  community,  and  to  have  lively 
discussions  you  need  to  organize  your  class,  draw  up  a  consti- 
tution, and  elect  officers  and  committees. 


You  are  beginning  a  study  of  your  ovv^n  community  to  find  out  the 
different  kinds  of  things  we  outlined  in  the  preceding  section.  There  are 
so  many  things  to  do  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  arrange  matters  very  care- 
fully. We  want  you  and  your  class-mates  to  take  charge  of  the  whole  sur- 
vey yourselves.  Of  course  your  teacher  will  act  as  your  adviser  in  it  all  and 
will  help  you  to  direct  the  work  and  to  prepare  your  class  discussions. 

But  since  she  is  to  be  only  an  adviser  you  will  need  to  elect  some  officers 
and  divide  yourselves  into  committees. 

How  DOES  A  GROUP  OF  PEOPLE  LIKE  YOUR  CLASS 
ORGANIZE  ITSELF? 

FIRST        IT  ELECTS  A  ^TEMPORARY  CHAIRMAN" 

Whenever  a  new  organization  is  to  be  made,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to 
choose  one  person  to  act  as  temporary  chairman.  He  will  preside  over  your 
meeting  until  a  president  or  a  permanent  chairman  is  elected.  After  that 
the  elected  president  or  chairman  will  preside. 

What  officers  do  you  think  you  should  have?  How  should  they  be 
selected  ?  What  should  be  their  duties  and  their  powers  ?  How  long  should 
they  hold  office  ? 

YOU  SHOULD  DRAW  UP  A  CONSTITUTION 

All  these  questions,  and  others  that  will  come  up,  make  it  necessary  for 
you  to  write  out  a  Constitution.  This  is  simply  a  written  agreement  that 
the  members  of  your  class  subscribe  to,  telling  how  the  class  is  to  be  organ- 
ized. After  electing  a  temporary  chairman,  therefore,  you  should  draw  up 
a  Constitution.  You  can  do  it  in  several  ways.  One  way  is  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  write  a  preHminary  ''draft"  (statement).  Then  have  state- 
ment read  to  the  class  and  approved  item  by  item,  or  change  it  as  the  members 
of  the  class  wish  it  changed. 


•12 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Perhaps  a  better  way  for  you  to  do,  since  everyone  in  the  class  ought  to 
learn  how,  would  be  to  make  the  constitution  right  in  the  class — with  the 
whole  class  as  the  connmittee. 

The  Temporary  Chairman  appoints  one  secretary  to  write  down  the 
"articles"  (sections)  of  the  constitution,  and  an  assistant  to  write  each  one 
on  the  black  board  so  every  one  can  understand  just  what  each  article  means. 

Since  most  of  the  pupils  in  your  class  have  never  made  a  constitution, 
we  give  next  the  titles  of  the  articles  in  the  constitution  of  another  seventh 
grade  class  that  we  know  about.  Your  class  can  use  this  plan  as  a  guide 
for  writing  out  a  detailed  constitution. 

To  the  Teacher:  Perhaps  it  would  be  a  good  thing 
to  divide  the  class  into  groups  and  have  each  group  draw 
up  a  constitution.  In  that  case  the  reports  should  be 
brought  into  the  committee  of  the  whole  and  the  articles 
read  and  debated.  Have  one  of  the  best  phrased  ones 
accepted.  If  you  think  it  would  be  better,  work  out 
the  constitution  in  the  class,  with  all  pupils  contributing. 
,  Use  your  judgment  as  to  which  of  the  two  procedures 
to  follow.  With  each  article  below  we  are  including 
leading  queries  to  suggest  to  the  pupils  the  matters  to 
be  covered. 

Your  Constitution  and  By-laws  should  cover  such  items  as  the  following : 

ARTICLE  I.  NAME 

Choose  a  name  for  your  organization  which  will  describe  the  kinds  of 
things  it  is  to  do  in  studying  your  community. 

ARTICLE  II.  MEMBERSHIP 

Who  can  belong? 

ARTICLE  III.    PURPOSES  OR  OBJECTS  OF  THE  ORGANIZATION 

State  clearly  the  purposes  of  your  class  in  studying  your  community. 

ARTICLE  IV.  OFFICERS 

Most  clubs  and  organizations  have  a  president,  and  a  vice-president  to 
preside  when  the  president  is  not  on  hand.  Since  you  will  want  to  keep 
notes  of  what  you  do  in  your  meetings  (these  are  called  "minutes")  you  will 
need  a  secretary.  And  if  you  should  need  to  collect  money  and  spend  it,  you 
would  need  a  Treasurer.  Very  frequently  the  same  person  serves  as  Secre- 
tary-treasurer. Such  organizations  always  have  an  executive  committee 
composed  of  the  officers  and  about  three  additional  members,  to  decide  poli- 
cies. 

ARTICLE  V.    DUTIES  OF  OFFICERS 

Tell  in  a  number  of  separate  sections  (Section  1,  2,  3,  etc.)  what  each 
officer  can  and  must  do.    Include  the  executive  committee,  too. 


HOW  TO  ORGANIZE  YOUR  CLASS 


13 


ARTICLE   VI.  MEETINGS 

Tell  when  meetings  (regular  and  special)  shall  be  held. 

ARTICLE  VII.    ELECTION  OF  OFFICERS 

Provide  the  time  and  method  of  electing  officers. 

Organizations  generally  use  the  secret  ballot.  You  will  have  to  decide 
whether  to  do  that,  and  whether  a  majority  of  votes  cast  will  be  sufficient 
to  elect  or  whether  a  plurality  shall  be  required.  Majority  is  "more  than 
half";  plurality  is   (Who  in  the  class  can  tell?) 

ARTICLE  VIII.  DUES 

Do  you  wish  to  have  dues  ?    If  so  you  must  provide  the  amount. 

ARTICLE  IX.  AMENDMENTS 

All  organizations  need  to  change  their  Constitutions  from  time  to  time. 
Why  ?  Perhaps  you  will  need  to  change  yours.  At  any  rate  make  an  article 
in  which  you  provide  a  way  in  which  the  Constitution  can  be  amended.  Be 
careful  to  state  the  number  of  votes  needed  to  amend.  Sometimes  two- 
thirds  are  required,  sometimes  three-fourths.  Should  the  number  be  larger 
than  a  majority?   Why?    Debate  this  in  your  class. 

BY-LAWS 

Now  you  need  some  by-laws  to  supplement  the  Constitution.  The 
Constitution  gave  just  the  bare  frame-work  of  your  organization.  By-laws 
are  rules  and  regulations  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  business  of  your  club. 
In  these  you  will  need  to  state  how  the  details  of  class  discussion  are  to  be 
carried  on.  So  make  a  series  of  articles,  I,  II,  III,  etc.  to  serve  as  by-laws. 
We  suggest  that  you  make  one  for  each  of  the  following  points. 

I.  Order  in  which  business  of  the  day  is  to  be  taken  up. 

II.  The  details  of  election.  Provide  for  a  clerk,  tell  how  nominations 
are  to  be  made,  when  elections  are  to  be  held,  how  they  are  to  be  carried  on, 
etc. 

III.  Provide  for  permanent  committees  of  your  class.  Discuss  what  com- 
mittees you  need  to  appoint  and  state  in  your  by-laws  what  they  shall  do. 

PARLIAMENTARY  PROCEDURE 

In  this  article  you  should  state  the  order  of  business,  and  the  way  in 
which  order  and  decorum  should  be  maintained.  You  also  need  very  ex- 
plicit rules  for  conducting  meetings — when  members  are  allowed  to  speak, 
how  motions  are  presented  and  debated  and  voted  upon,  etc.  It  is  so  import- 
ant for  you  to  get  accustomed  to  carrying  on  meetings  in  the  proper  way 


14 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


that  \vc  arc  giving  in  full  a  sample  section  prescribing  "Rules  for  Conduct- 
ing Meetings."  Use  this  as  sort  of  a  reference  manual  on  how  to  conduct 
yourself  in  meetings, 

1.  Each  member  must  stand,  address  the  chair,  and  be  recognized  be- 
fore speaking.  Once  recognized  he  has  "the  floor"  and  may  not  be  inter- 
rupted except  for  the  kinds  of  motions  which  are  indicated  in  paragraph  5. 

2.  No  member  may  speak  on  any  measure  or  motion  for  longer  than 
two  minutes  unless  it  be  a  committee  report  (all  committee  reports  should 
be  presented  in  not  over  three  minutes).  Exceptions  can  be  made  only  by 
a  majority  vote  of  those  present. 

3.  No  member  shall  speak  more  than  once  on  a  motion  unless  it  be  the 
maker  of  the  motion  or  unless  it  be  to  answer  a  question  of  some  other  mem- 
ber addressed  to  him  through  the  chair. 

4.  The  president  shall  not  speak  on  motions  from  the  chair;  in  case 
he  wishes  to  speak  he  shall  ask  some  other  member  to  take  the  chair  and 
then  he  shall  be  recognized  in  the  usual  manner  from  the  floor. 

5.  Any  member  may  make  a  motion  after  being  recognized  by  the 
"chair."  When  seconded,  the  motion  is  before  the  club  for  discussion  and 
no  other  matter  can  be  introduced  until  this  motion  is  disposed  of  in  one  of 
the  ways  indicated  herein.  Discussion  may  be  limited  by  vote  of  the  club. 
Any  member  may  propose  amendments  to  the  motion ;  if  seconded,  they  are 
to  be  discussed  first  and  then  voted  upon.  Other  motions  may  be  disposed 
of  in  the  following  ways:  (a)  The  motion  can  be  referred  to  a  commit- 
tee who  will  discuss  it  and  then  report  back  to  the  club,  (b)  It  can  be  "laid 
on  the  table."  This  means  that  action  on  the  motion  is  postponed  until  some 
future  time  when  unfinished  business  is  in  order.  No  debate  may  be  held 
on  the  motion  to  "lay  a  motion  on  the  table"  or  to  "take  it  from  the  table." 

A  motion  may  be  made  to  limit  debate  on  the  original  motion. 

A  motion  may  be  made  to  adjourn ;  this  is  always  in  order  except  when 
a  speaker  has  the  floor,  when  a  vote  is  being  taken,  when  the  motion  has  been 
voted  down,  or  when  the  business  cannot  be  abruptly  interrupted.  (The 
president  shall  decide  about  the  latter.) 

A  motion  to  re-consider  a  motion  on  any  report  or  bill  that  has  been 
passed  is  always  in  order.  It  must  be  made,  however,  by  one  who  voted 
with  the  majority. 

The  "previous  question"  can  be  moved.  When  debate  is  long  drawn 
out,  any  member  may  say,  "Mr.  President,  I  move  the  previous  question 
be  put  to  a  vote."  Such  a  motion  is  not  debatable,  and  the  chair  must  then 
say,  "Shall  the  main  question  now  be  put?"  If  such  a  motion  is  made, 
seconded  and  carried,  the  main  question  must  be  immediately  voted  upon. 

A  "point  of  order"  may  be  taken.  Any  member  may  at  any  time  say, 
"Mr.  President  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order."  The  Chair  shall  then  say: 
"Please  state  your  point  of  order."    Such  "points  of  order"  may  be  viola- 


HOW  TO  ORGANIZE  YOUR  CLASS 


15 


tions  of  the  constitution  and  by-laws  or  objections  to  some  ruling  of  the 
president.  The  Chair  on  hearing  the  point  of  order  answers  either  that 
"Your  point  of  order  is  sustained,"  or  "Your  point  of  order  is  denied."  If 
any  member  does  not  like  the  ruling  of  the  Chair  on  this  point  of  order,  he 
or  she  may  appeal  to  the  entire  club.  Then  the  Chair  shall  say,  "Shall  the 
decision  of  the  Chair  be  sustained?"  This  question  is  debated  and  voted 
Upon  like  any  other  motion.  The  presiding  officer  may  discuss  this  without 
leaving  the  Chair.^ 

To  the  Teacher:  Feel  free  to  adapt  this  outline  of  a 
constitution  and  class  organization  to  fit  your  local  con- 
ditions. We  believe  that  active  participation  on  the  part 
of  the  pupils  in  this  kind  of  work  is  the  only  effective  way 
to  teach  them  about  their  government.  The  rules  of 
parliamentary  procedure  might  well  be  learned. 

Several  class  periods  may  be  spent  on  Section  II  which 
we  believe  will  teach  in  a  concrete  and  vivid  way  many 
important  activities  of  government.  It  is  our  purpose  in 
this  unit  to  teach  pupils  that  groups  of  all  kinds  use 
just  such  rules  of  procedure  in  organizing,  and  that 
such  rules  are  not  dry,  formal  things,  but  necessary  for 
the  government  of  the  group  and  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  certain  results.  Such  activity  should  teach  them 
how  elections  in  a  democratic  community  are  conducted. 
The  citizenship  value  of  choosing  leaders  and  learning 
to  follow  leaders,  the  oral  "give  and  take"  in  a  class 
debate  cannot  be  stressed  too  much  or  practised  too  often. 
Team  play,  co-operation,  courtesy  to  others  and  respect 
for  other's  rights  —  self-reliance,  obedience,  initiative, 
honesty, — all  these  and  other  habits  and  attitudes  ought 
to  be  developed  as  a  consequence  of  this  kind  of  civic 
work.  Only  in  some  such  way  can  good  citizens  be  made. 
Constant  practice  will  tend  to  produce  young  citizens 
who  can  judge  what  is  good  and  what  is  bad  in  civic 
affairs.  With  knowledge  of  the  facts,  and  actual  ex- 
perience in  group  management  and  civic  activities,  they 
will  know  how  to  pull  their  share  of  the  community 
load.  They  will  know  how  to  help  make  their  commun- 
ity a  better  place  to  live  in. 

Here  is  our  opportunity  as  teachers  not  only  to  give 
these  pupils  the  opportunity  to  read  about  how  people 
co-operate  in  what  we  call  "government,"  but  also  to 
help  them  form  good  civic  habits,  to  set  up  in  them  a 
desire  to  work  for  civic  improvement. 

Working  on  the  scheme  suggested  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs,  make 
your  constitution.  "Adopt"  it  by  voting  on  each  article  as  it  is  finished. 
Finally  after  all  the  articles  are  written  and  adopted,  "adopt  the  Constitu- 
tion as  a  whole. 


Then  elect  permanent  officers  as  provided  for  by  the  constitution. 


,  \Based  upon  and  adapted  from  suggestions  of  Mr.  R.  B.  Hatch  in  "Projects 
m  Citizenship.      The  Citizenship  Company,  323  Beachwood  Place,  Leonia,  N.  J. 


SECTION  111. 


SOME   MAP-MAKING  EXERCISES   TO  ACQUAINT 
YOU  WITH  THE  GENERAL  FEATURES  OF 
YOUR  COMMUNITY 

In  order  to  really  understand  your  community,  you  should  lay  it  out  be- 
fore you  by  making  a  large  map  of  it. 

To  the  Teacher:  We  are  giving  detailed  directions 
next  for  each  pupil  to  make  a  map  of  the  local  com- 
munity. It  will  be  worth  while  to  give  several  class 
exercises  to  this  work.  Basic  maps  will  need  to  be  col- 
lected and  a  good  deal  of  class-discussion  devoted  to 
various  aspects  of  the  work. 

Directions  for  Making  the  Map  of  your  Community 
i.  collect  as  many  good  printed  maps  as  you  can 

Your  first  task  is  to  assemble  in  your  class  room  copies  of  several  large 
maps  of  the  towns.  You  can  obtain  these  at  several  places.  The  City  Eng- 
ineer's office  will  have  the  most  complete  and  reliable  ones.  Appoint  a 
committee  to  go  to  his  office  and  secure  such  maps.  (How  should  this  com- 
mittee be  appointed?  By  the  President?  Or,  should  suggestions  be  made 
by  members  of  the  class?  Perhaps  certain  members  will  know  how  best  to 
secure  such  maps.    If  so,  they  should  be  appointed  on  such  a  committee.) 

It  will  be  a  good  thing  to  appoint  another  committee  to  go  to  the  city 
library  and  get  books,  pamphlets,  or  manuals  that  will  help  to  make  com- 
plete a  map  of  the  community  and  its  life. 

II.  DECIDE  IN  A  ROUND-TABLE  DISCUSSION  OF  THE  WHOLE  CLASS 
WHAT  TO  INCLUDE  ON  YOUR  MAP. 

When  the  maps  are  brought  into  class  hang  them  up  around  the  room 
and  discuss  together  which  items  should  be  drawn  in  on  your  map.  Keep 
notes  of  the  points  agreed  upon.  One  map  may  contribute  one  item  to  your 
map,  another  map  some  other  item;  so  you  will  need  to  note  down  the  de- 
cisions made  in  class  discussion. 

Now  let  us  see  what  should  be  put  on  your  map.  We  suggest  the  fol- 
lowing as  a  basis  for  your  discussion : 

FIRST :  The  general  boundary  of  the  community,  of  course.  In  planning 
this  make  your  map  rather  large — say  at  least  two  feet  square.  It  will 
probably  be  easier  to  locate  places  on  it  if  you  use  large  sheets  of  square- 


MAP-MAKING  EXERCISES 


17 


ruled  cross-section  paper.  It  will  help  also  to  use  these  ruled  squares  as 
horizontal  and  vertical  reference  lines.  Look  at  the  maps  in  a  geography 
and  you  will  notice  that  that  is  commonly  done  to  help  locate  places.  Number 
or  letter  lightly  these  reference  lines  and  this  will  aid  you  to  place  different 
objects  at  proper  points. 

second:  The  principal  highways  and  the  water  courses.  In  the  case 
of  roads  note  the  other  communities  which  they  connect  to  yours.  If  motor- 
truck traffic  moves  over  them  indicate  that.  In  the  case  of  streams  show 
whether  they  are  navigable,  where  docks  are,  if  there  are  any,  bridges  and 
falls  where  water  power  is  generated. 

third:  The  railroad  lines  and  the  electric  interurban  lines.  Letter 
name  carefully  on  each  one. 

FOURTH :  Open  "squares,"  principal  street  intersections  and  main 
streets. 

FIFTH :  Principal  buildings,  like  the  City  Hall,  Court  House,  Post 
Office,  high  schools,  colleges  or  technical  schools,  if  there  are  any,  railroad 
stations,  libraries,  theatres,  museums,  or  art  galleries.  Locate  any  other 
buildings  that  your  class  decides  should  appear  on  the  map. 

Sixth  :  Principal  manufacturing  and  business  districts,  if  the  community 
is  at  all  industrial.  Mark  out  the  location  of  the  chief  industries  by  shading 
them  in  lightly  but  very  carefully.  Do  this  as  precisely  as  possible  so  that 
you  can  locate  residence  districts  for  industrial  workers  by  a  dil¥erent  kind 
of  shading.  There  will  be  too  many  items  to  letter  the  names  of  all  on 
your  map;  number  them,  therefore,  and  make  a  "legend"  on  a  blank  cor- 
ner of  the  map  in  which  you  enumerate  the  numbers  and  the  names  of  im- 
portant industries,  districts,  buildings  and  the  like. 

seventh:  Shade  in  the  chief  residence  districts.  If  there  are  fairly 
sharp  distinctions  in  the  places  where  different  nationalities  live,  try  to  show 
those  distinctions  on  the  map.  If  you  can  distinguish  between  the  character 
of  the  residence  districts  in  any  other  ways,  do  so, — for  example,  if  one  sec- 
tion is  largely  composed  of  separate  dwelling  houses  and  another  of  apart- 
ment buildings  show  that  distinction. 

Take  great  care  with  your  lettering. 

Choose  an  appropriate  title  for  the  map  and  letter  it  carefully.  Draw  a 
neat  border  around  the  map.  Work  up  the  whole  job  with  such  care  that 
you  would  be  proud  to  exhibit  your  map. 


SECTION  IV 
SMALL  TOWN  VS.  LARGE  CITY 

Now  that  you  know  how  your  home  community  is  laid  out  we  shall 
study  its  population — how  many  people  there  are,  how  the  town  compares 
to  others  in  the  state  or  in  the  country,  whether  it  is  growing  or  standing 
still  or  perhaps  decreasing  in  population.  Is  it  probable  that  the  community 
will  grow  in  the  future? 

As  you  study  these  matters  keep  in  mind  one  important  question :  Would 
it  be  a  good  thing  to  have  it  grow,  or  is  it  about  the  right  size  now  for  people 
to  live  comfortably  and  happily?  The  demand  in  America  is  for  growth, 
speed,  bigness.    Ought  these  things  to  be  goals  of  our  community  life  ? 

First  then,  how  large  is  your  community? 

How  can  you  find  out?  Either  from  reports  of  the  United  States  Bu- 
reau of  Census,  Washington,  D.  C,  or  from  officials  in  your  own  town.  In 
Volume  I  of  the  1920  Census,  entitled  'Topulation,"  you  will  find  excel- 
lent recent  statistics.  If  your  school  does  not  have  the  various  reports  of 
the  1920  Census  (there  are  several  available  now,  1923),  write  to  the  Di- 
rector of  the  Census,  Washington,  iD.  C.  In  the  meantime,  your  city  library 
and  probably  the  office  library  of  your  Board  of  Education  will  have  these 
reports. 

How  does  your  Community  Compare  in  Population 
With  Others  in  Your  State? 

You  can  obtain  from  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  in  your  own 
state,  other  statistics  of  population.  The  United  States  Bureau  of  Census 
takes  a  nation-wide  census  every  tenth  year,  1910,  1920,  1930,  etc;  each 
state  does  it  on  the  alternate  fifth  years.  So  between  the  two,  nation  and 
states,  one  can  get  accurate  statistics  of  population  every  five  years.  There 
will  also  be  places  in  your  community  where  you  can  get  statistics  of  popu- 
lation. Try  the  school  or  city  librarian,  the  City  Hall,  the  newspaper  offices 
for  this  information. 

Now  in  order  to  really  understand  your  town  and  to  discover  whether 
people  are  making  a  community  that  will  give  them  comfort  and  happiness, 
it  will  be  very  helpful  to  compare  the  population  with  that  of  other  com- 
munities in  your  own  state. 

Invent  some  kind  of  graph  that  will  show  where  your  town  stands  with 
respect  to  others  in  your  state  in  point  of  population.  One  suggestion  would 
be  to  make  a  list  of  the  cities  and  towns  beginning  with  the  biggest  and 


SMALL  TOWN  VS.  LARGE  CITY 


19 


working  down  to  the  smallest.  Perhaps  you  could  also  make  a  bar  graph 
for  all  the  cities,  making  the  one  for  your  city  heavier  than  the  others.  See 
what  device  you  can  invent  to  give  this  information. 

Now  turn  back  to  pamphlet  No.  2 — The  City  and  Key  Industries  in 
Modern  Nations,  page  25.  In  what  population  group  is  your  town  accord- 
ing to  Table  II?  As  American  cities  go,  is  yours  small,  medium-sized,  or 
large?  What  per  cent  of  all  people  in  America  are  living  in  towns  smaller 
than  25,000?  Turn  to  Table  I,  page  23.  What  per  cent,  were  living  in 
towns  smaller  than  8,000  in  1910?  Now  what  do  you  think  about  your 
town?  Is  it  large,  small,  or  medium-sized?  What  would  people  in  the 
rest  of  your  state  think  about  it? 

Is  Your  Community  Growing? 

This  question  is  a  very  important  one  in  American  communities  today. 
You  can  answer  it  most  effectively  by  making  a  graph. 

EXERCISE. 

Make  a  line-graph  or  a  bar-graph  which  will  show  the 
population  of  your  community  each  ten  years  since  it  was 
founded. 

You  can  get  suggestions  for  the  form  of  the  graph  from  pages  22  to  34  in 
Pamphlet  No.  2 — The  City  and  Key  Industries  in  Modern  Nations. 

Can  you  explain  the  Growth  of  Population  in  your  Town? 

Next  study  the  shape  of  the  population  graph  you  have  drawn.  Has  the 
population  grown  slowly  and  steadily  all  the  time  ?  Or  has  it  increased  rap- 
idly at  certain  times,  remaining  constant  at  others,  or  perhaps  even  declin- 
ing ?  Why  the  increase  in  growth  or  the  lack  of  it  ?  You  can  find  the  ex- 
planation from  some  source  in  your  community. 

To  give  you  suggestions,  Fig.  1  shows  the  growth  of  several  large  cities. 

We  also  quote  the  discussion  that  was  given  of  these  graphs  in  one  of 
our  other  pamphlets: 

How  Recently  and  How  Rapidly  Have  American  Cities 
Themselves  Grown? 

Fig.  1  answers  this  question  for  fourteen  of  our  important  cities. 

Not  all  these  cities,  however,  grew  in  the  same  way.  Some  are  old  port 
or  river  cities,  like  Boston  or  Louisville.  Note  how  slowly  these  two  grew 
at  first  when  pioneer  conditions  prevailed,  before  machines  and  factories 
<;ame,  and  before  transportation  was  improved.  But  when  railroads  reached 
the  Ohio  Valley,  when  the  reaper  began  to  sell  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 


Fio.  1 


SMALL  TOWN  VS.  LARGE  CITY 


21 


and  Kentucky,  and  when  steamboats  plied  up  and  down  the  Ohio — then 
Louisville  grew  and  grew  rapidly.    See  how  steep  the  curve  becomes  after 


Then  there's  the  city  that  builds  up  around  a  new  industry.  Lowell  is 
a  good  example.  Started  suddenly  in  the  1820's  by  the  establishment  of  the 
textile  mills,  its  population  has  mounted  steadily  decade  by  decade. 

Do  cities  grow  up  where  unusual  natural  resources  are  discovered  ?  Yes, 
indeed.  Scranton,  an  older  city,  Tulsa  and  Los  Angeles,  new-born  cities, 
are  fine  examples  of  this.  Scranton  was  founded  in  1840  and  made  very 
slow  progress  until  about  1860.  Then  it  boomed!  Why?  Vast  anthracite 
coal  deposits  in  and  about  Scranton  came  into  great  demand  for  use  in  the 
expanding  steel  business.  The  Kelly-Bessemer  process  became  commercially 
practicable  in  the  1860's.  The  Civil  War  was  on  between  the  North  and 
the  South.  Steel  and  iron  in  enormous  quantities  were  being  demanded  for 
both  war  and  peace-time  purposes.  So,  the  coal  business  thrived  and  Scran- 
ton grew. 

A  real  boom  city,  do  you  ask  for?  Look  at  Tulsa.  Less  than  1000 
people  in  1900 — over  70,000  in  1920!  How  could  it  happen?  What  was 
the  magnet  to  draw  70,000  human  beings  to  such  a  locality,  for  it  wasn't 
especially  favored  by  transportation  facilities,  water  power,  or  the  like.  Oil ! 
Is  there  any  natural  resource  of  more  crucial  importance  to  our  industrial 
civilization  than  oil  ?  Perhaps  you  think  coal  is ;  but  consider  how  difficult 
it  is  to  get  the  coal  from  the  earth  and  how  easy  and  cheap  it  is  to  get  oil. 
In  1904  large  deposits  of  oil  were  discovered  in  Tulsa.  Immediately  people 
flocked  there  as  they  did  in  the  Californian  and  Alaskan  gold  rushes.  During 
that  year  14,000,000  barrels  of  oil  were  taken  from  the  earth.  Eleven  years 
later,  in  1915,  97,915,243  barrels!  and  along  with  the  discovery  of  oil,  came 
that  of  natural  gas. 

Much  the  same  sort  of  circumstances  account  for  the  astonishing  growth 
of  Los  Angeles  since  1890.  Two  things  help  to  explain  it:  first,  the  large 
amount  of  irrigation  that  has  developed  recently;  and  second,  the  rapid  in- 
crease in  the  citrus  fruit  business  around  Los  Angeles  that  came  with  it.  In 
1900  there  were  25,657  acres  about  Los  Angeles  cultivated  under  irrigation; 
by  1910,  the  number  had  increased  to  39,352  acres. 

But  one  of  the  greatest  single  causes  of  the  growth  of  population  in  the 
Los  Angeles  district  has  been  the  sharp  increase  in  the  amount  of  oil  produced 
there.    Note  these  startling  figures: 


1840. 


1899. 
1912- 
1918. 


2,000,000  barrels 
86,450,000  barrels 
99,731,177  barrels 


The  most  rapid  advance  came  between  1911  and  1912. 


22 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Akron  and  rubber!  From  way  back  before  tlie  Civil  War  there  had 
been  a  little  town  at  Akron,  Ohio.  In  1860  it  contained  a  few  thousand 
souls.  In  1900  it  was  still  a  small  city  of  40,000.  Twenty  years  later  it 
housed  209,000  people!  What  was  the  secret?  More  than  anything  else, 
rubber  and  the  rubber-tire  industry.  As  early  as  1869  Dr.  B.  F.  Good- 
rich founded  his  rubber  business  which  was  the  nucleus  of  the  great  industry 
that  has  grown  up  in  that  place.  Can  you  tell  why  the  population  should 
have  grown  so  slowly  until  1900  and  then  have  mounted  so  rapidly — es- 
pecially after  1910?    Look  back  at  Fig.  1. 

As  regards  the  other  cities  we  leave  to  you  the  task  of  finding  out  why 
they  grew  as  they  did.  Detroit?  Long  slow  development  until  1900 — and 
then  tremendous  progress.  Why?  Birmingham,  almost  a  straight  steep 
growth  from  1880  to  1922.  Why? 

Now  look  up  the  history  of  your  own  town  in  your  library  to  see  if  you 
can  find  an  explanation  of  its  growth.  No  doubt  a  history  has  been  written, 
for  in  every  American  city  of  any  size  at  all  some  one  interested  in  history 
and  the  past  preserves  traditions  and  stories  of  earlier  days  by  writing  a  com- 
munity history.  In  such  a  history  you  will  find  descriptions  of  events  which 
will  explain  the  "population  curve"  for  your  town. 

If  you  can  find  no  town  history,  send  a  committee  to  some  of  the  oldest 
inhabitants.  Get  them  to  answer  specific  questions  put  to  them  by  you 
about  the  growth  of  the  city. 

How  would  it  do  to  suggest  to  the  newspaper  men  of  the  city  that  some 
one  write  a  history  in  case  there  isn't  one  already  available  ?  By  suggesting 
it,  your  class  might  start  something  rather  important.  Perhaps  your  school 
could  undertake  to  begin  the  collection  of  the  material. 

As  a  result  of  your  study  and  your  class  discussion  of  the  matter,  write 
a  paragraph  in  your  notebook  summarizing  the  reasons  for  the  way  your 
community  has  grown  or  declined  or  remained  constant,  as  the  case  may  pQ. 

Now,  you  are  ready  to  work  on, two  most  important  questions: 

THE  FIRST  QUESTION  I  Can  you  predict  from  the  population 
graph  whether  your  town  will  grow  in  the  future  and 
about  how  rapidly? 

One  thing  about  graphs  which  show  history  is  that  they  enable  you  to 
estimate  fairly  well  what  will  happen  in  the  future.  Study  carefully  the 
graph  you  have  made. 

How  large  do  you  estimate  your  community  will  be  in  1925?  in  1930? 
in  1940?   in  1950? 

Do  you  think  you  can  predict  that  far  ahead?  What  could  happen  to 
upset  your  prediction? 


SMALL  TOWN  VS.  LARGE  CITY 


23 


Now,  why  is  it  important  to  know  about  how  large  cities  will  be  in  the 
years  to  come?  Would  the  officials  who  are  planning  the  school  buildings 
want  such  information?  Why? 

Would  the  city  engineers  who  are  planning  the  streets,  the  sewers,  the 
reservoirs,  and  water  systems,  want  to  be  able  to  estimate  such  things?  Why? 

Would  the  real  estate  men  of  the  city  want  to?  How  could  they  use 
such  estimates? 

THE  SECOND  QUESTION  I    Would  it  be  better  for  your  community 


Turn  back  to  Section  I  and  read  the  quotation  from  the  speech  of  the 
man  who  was  "boosting"  Zenith.  In  putting  such  words  into  the  mouth 
of  a  real  estate  man  remember  that  Sinclair  Lewis  was  trying  to  portray 
the  typical  American  real  estate  booster,  and  of  course  every  man  is  a  real 
estate  man  at  heart.  "Boosting"  for  one's  home  town  has  become  the  fashion 
in  our  country.  As  you  have  passed  through  communities  on  the  train  have 
you  ever  seen  large  signs  shouting  at  you  such  slogans  as : 


To  many  people,  foreign  visitors  especially,  America  seems  mad  about 
"speed  and  bigness."  Her  cities  are  racing  with  each  other  in  boasting  of 
the  size  of  everything  going  on  within  them.  Each  wants  the  "tallest  sky- 
scraper;" each  is  proud  of  its  "miles  of  paved  streets."  Local  newspapers 
announce  proudly  every  material  addition  to  "main  street" — the  new  depart- 
ment store,  the  marble-fronted  Bank  Block,  new  street  lights. 

We  have  already  quoted  from  a  pamphlet  on  Seattle,  a  city  typical  of 
the  hustling,  growing  west,  which  tells  us  it  is  "the  chief  city  of  that  portion 
of  the  United  States  that  is  richest  in  basic  resources — a  territory  with 
millions  of  acres  of  farm  lands  that  lead  ^he  nation  in  yield  per  acre ;  with 
the  only  coal  fields  in  the  Pacific  states ;  with  more  than  one-third  of  all  the 
water  power  in  the  nation;  with  the  largest  area  of  standing  timber  on  the 
continent,  and  with  fishing  resources  that  make  Seattle  the  chief  fisheries 
port  of  the  world.  Seattle  is  the  entrepot  and  market  place  for  Alaska; 
which  has  more  gold  than  California,  more  copper  than  Michigan  and  Ari- 
zona combined,  more  coal  than  Pennsylvania,  undeveloped  oil  fields,  the 
only  tin  mine  in  the  United  States,  extensive  marble  deposits,  the  richest  fish- 
ing areas  in  the  world,  approximately  60,000  square  miles  of  agricultural 
land  and  a  total  area  equal  to  that  of  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Holland, 
Belgium,  and  Finland,  in  the  same  latitude  and  capable  of  supporting  an 
equal  population  of  27,000,000."^ 

1  From  a  publication  of  the  Seattle  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Commercial  Club, 
1920. 


to  grow  larger,  to  remain  as  it  is,  or  even  to  become  smaller? 


Bigger  and  Better,"  or  "Welcome  to  ^ 
the  biggest  little  town  in  America' 


24 


TOWN   AND  CITY  LIFK  IN  AMERICA 


It  seems  as  though  nearly  all  kinds  of  people  in  our  towns  and  cities 
want  their  communities  to  grow  larger.  The  real-estate  man,  of  course, 
wants  to  sell  more  land,  more  houses,  and  to  rent  more  apartments.  The 
manufacturer  and  the  storekeeper  want  more  people  to  do  business  with 
so  as  to  sell  more  goods ;  likewise  the  banlcer  wishes  to  see  his  deposits  grow 
and  he  wants  more  people  to  whom  to  lend  money.  The  professional  people, 
too — lawyers,  doctors,  and  clergymen,  are  ambitious  for  a  greater  popula- 
tion ;  the  sizes  of  their  incomes  depend  on  the  number  of  people  in  the  com- 
munity. Even  the  school  officials  "point  with  pride"  to  their  mounting  pupil 
enrollment. 

Now  all  this  is  indicative  of  a  fine  healthy  growth  in  material  things. 
Cities  are  growing  larger  and  no  doubt  material  comforts  have  increased 
along  with  their  size.  As  the  community  grows  from  a  small  village  to  a 
city,  muddy  streets  give  way  to  clean  macadam,  brick,  or  stone  pavements, 
stores  become  larger,  better  water  systems  and  sewage  disposal  plants  are 
installed,  and  comforts  and  luxuries  are  supplied  more  easily.  Some  people 
maintain  also  that  better  health  protection  is  provided,  and,  up  to  a  certain 
size  of  city,  a  larger  number  of  school  buildings  and  better  libraries  are  pro- 
vided. 

The  question  of  the  best  size  of  community  for  the  comfort  and  happiness 
of  the  people  is  a  very  difficult  one.  It  is  very  important,  though,  to  try  to 
get  the  facts  with  which  to  answer  it.  It  is  especially  important  to  keep  an 
open  mind  in  studying  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  each. 

1.  How  about  Neighborliness  and  Meddlesomeness? 

That  is  the  principal  theme  that  you  should  have  in  mind  in  studying 
your  community.  If  your  community  is  a  small-town  would  it  be  better  if  it 
were  to  grow  larger? 

Would  the  intimate  friendships  that  go  with  single  houses  be  taken  away 
by  apartment  buildings  where  people  pay  little  attention  to  one  another? 
Would  people  become  cold  and  impersonal  (as  they  do  in  some  large  cities) 
and  would  real  "neighborliness"  disappear?  On  the  other  hand,  would 
such  loss  be  compensated  by  the  disappearance  of  the  meddlesomeness  of  the 
small  town?  People  in  small  towns  are  gossipy,  aren't  they?  And  one 
person's  business  is  apt  to  be  everybody's  business,  isn't  it?  Think  about 
that  question  of  friendship  and  neighborliness  and  meddlesomeness  as  you 
consider  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  small  town  and  of  the  big 
city.    There's  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides. 


SMALL  TOWN  VS.  LARGE  CITY 


25 


2.  Is   Government   more   Efficient   in   the  Small 
Town  or  in  the  Big  City? 

•  There's  still  more  to  this  question  that  is  worth  your  study.  What 
about  the  government  in  the  community?  In  small  towns  everybody  knows 
everybody.  In  large  cities  any  one  person  knows  very  few  people  in  the 
entire  population.  In  which  kind  of  community  can  the  mass  of  the  people 
be  the  most  intelligent  about  choosing  leaders  and  representatives?  In 
which  one  can  the  people  best  decide  local  questions?  Keep  in  mind  not 
only  that  people  know  each  other  in  the  small  town  and  do  not  know  each 
other  in  the  city,  but  also  that  they  may  thereby  be  prevented  from  doing 
what  really  ought  to  be  done  because  of  obligations  to  party  associations  or 
personal  relationships  established  in  lodge,  church,  or  neighborhood. 

3.  How    about    Protecting    the    Health    of  the 
Community?  ^  (X^"^^^-\  ' 

'  That  last  point  is  especially  pertinent  in  the  case  of  cleaning  up  the  com- 
munity and  correcting  abuses.  Officials  and  citizens  should  be  absolutely 
impersonal  in  enforcing  laws.  In  which  kind  of  community  is  it  easier  to  be 
impersonal,  in  the  small  town  or  in  the  large  city?  Would  friendships, 
neighborhood  and  fraternal  relations,  perhaps,  interfere  with  carrying  out 
one's  duty?  What  do  you  think?  There  is  something  to  be  said  on  both 
sides  of  our  question,  isn't  there? 

4.  Take  the  question  of   Providing  Comfortable 
Houses  for  all  the  People. 

In  the  small  town  of  5,000  people  are  there  apartment  buildings?  three, 
six,  or  ten-family  houses?  In  the  town  of  10,000?  30,000?  50,000?  100,- 
000?  In  which  kind  of  house  do  you  think  comfortable  and  happy  family 
relations  and  friendly  relations  with  neighbors  can  best  be  worked  out — 
the  apartment  of  the  cities  or  the  "detached  house"  so  typical  of  the  Ameri- 
can small  town?  Again,  there's  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides.  Take  the 
question  of  sanitation,  of  ease  of  heating  the  houses,  and  of  the  reduction 
in  the  work  of  house-keeping.  Which  is  better?  On  the  other  hand,  re- 
member the  point  we  made  with  respect  to  the  impersonal  life.  ' 

5.  Recreation  in  the  Small  Town  and  in  the  Large 
City. 

Which  kind  of  community  provides  best  for  the  wise  use  of  leisure  time? 
Which  has  the  most  open  spaces  for  out-of-door  play?  Which,  on  the  other 
hand,  provides  the  best  musical  entertainment,  the  best  theatres  and  "mov- 
ies," the  finest  art  exhibits,  and  lectures?    Which  has  the  best  libraries,  the 


26 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


biggest  variety  of  magazines  and  newspapers?  Does  the  large  city  offset 
its  lack  of  open  play  spaces  by  other  things? 

Do  you  see  that  there  may  be  an  argument  or  two  on  both  sides  of  the 
controversy  in  the  case  of  recreation  as  well  ? 

6.  In  Which  Kind  of  Community  does  it  Really 
Cost  More  to  Live? 

Study  this  matter  too,  as  you  go  along  in  your  survey  of  community 
life.  Consider  ''relative'  standarids  of  living.  Not  only  how  much  more 
it  costs  to  live  in  the  large  city  but  also  whether  more  is  obtained  in  re- 
turn? Furthermore,  how  does  income  compare  with  cost  of  living?  These  are 
all  points  to  be  kept  in  mind.  Perhaps  one  gets  enough  in  return  to  make 
it  worth  while  to  pay  more  for  one's  living  in  the  larger  city.  At  any  rate, 
keep  the  question  in  mind — perhaps  a  case  can  be  made  for  one  side  or  the 
other. 

7.  In  which  Community — Small  Town  or  Large 
City — is  Public  Opinion  Expressed  Most  Ef- 
fectively ? 

This  is  a  very  important  question  and  yet  difficult  to  answer  correctly. 
How  is  public  opinion  formed  anyway?  In  fraternal  organizations?  In 
labor  unions?  In  business  men's  clubs?  In  barber  shops,  and  pool  rooms? 
In  motion  picture  houses?  At  dances?  On  street  cars  and  trains?  Among 
mechanics  on  their  jobs?  In  which  kind  of  community  is  the  will  of  the 
mass  of  the  people  the  more  intelligent?  We  shall  have  to  consider  these 
matters  carefully. 

In  which  community  are  the  newspapers  most  effective  in  informing  the 
public  about  what  is  going  on  in  politics?  in  industry  and  business?  in 
social  affairs?  In  which  one  are  the  newspapers  most  nearly  free  from 
partisan  prejudice  and  the  control  of  special  privilege?  Ah!  these  are  hard 
questions  to  answer.  Looks  as  though  there  is  a  chance  for  an  argument 
about  this  matter,  too. 

Now  as  we  study  section  after  section  of  this  pamphlet,  we  shall  con- 
stantly recur  to  this  problem. 

Keep  in  mind  constantly  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
living  in  a  small  town,  a  middle-sized  town,  and  a  large  city. 


SECTION  V. 


ORGANIZING  A  CIVIC  LABORATORY 

In  making  a  survey  of  your  community  and  in  studying  different  aspects 
of  community  life,  you  will  need  to  use  a  great  many  books  and  pamphlets. 
So  one  of  the  first  things  to  do  is  to  appoint  committees  who  will  go  through 
your  school  and  city  libraries  and  make  a  card  catalog  of  the  books  and 
pamphlets  that  you  can  get  access  to.  Then  you  will  also  need  to  find  out 
what  magazines  contain  material  on  community  problems.  Finally,  there 
are  many  societies  that  will  send  you  pamphlets  on  such  matters  free  of 
charge  upon  request. 

To  help  you  in  this  work  we  give  extracts  from  a  report  that  was  made 
by  a  civic  laboratory  committee  in  another  seventh  grade  class. 

"Our  library  of  civic  material  is  as  follows: 

I.  General  Books  on  Civics 

Ames,  E.  W.  &  Eldred,  A.:    Community  Civics. 
Ashley  R.  L.:    The  New  Civics. 
Beard,  Charles  A.:    American  City  Government. 
Burch,  H.  R.  &  Patterson,  S.  H.:    Problems  of  American  Democracy. 
Dunn,  A.  M. :    The  Community  and  the  Citizen. 
Field  J.  &  Nearing,  S. :    Community  Civics. 
Forman,  S.  A.:    Advanced  Civics. 
Garner,  J.  W. :  Government  in  the  United  States. 
Guitteau,  W.  B.:    Government  and  Politics  in  the  United  States. 
Hill,  H.  C. :    Community  Life  and  Civic  Problems, 
Hill.  M. :    Lessons  for  Junior  Citizens. 
■  Hill,  M.  &  Davis,  P.:    Civics  for  Nevj  Americans. 
Hughes,  R.  O. :    Community  Civics. 

James,  J.  A.  &  Sanford,  A.  H. :    Government  in  State  and  Nation. 
Jenks,  J.  W.  &  Smith,  R.  D.:    JVe  and  Our  Government. 

Judd,  C.  H.  &  Marshall,  L.  C:  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life.  (See 
particularly  Series  A,  lessons  11,  12,  16-19;  series  B,  lessons  12-14,  17-21 
and  series  C,  lessons  12-14,  17-20,  and  32. 

Lapp,  J.  A.:    Our  America,  the  Elements  of  Civics. 

Leavitt,  F.  M.  &  Brown,  E. :   Elementary  Civics. 

MacGruder,  F.  A.:    American  Government. 

Nida,  W.  L.:    City,  State  and  Nation. 

Parsons,  G. :    The  Land  of  Fair  Play. 

Reid,  T.  H.:    Forms  and  Functions  of  American  Government. 
Reid,  T.  H.:   Loyal  Citizenship. 

Woodburn,  J.  A.  &  Moran,  T.  F. :    The  Citizen  and  the  Republic. 

II.  Books  on  Special  Topics  ^ 

Addams,  Jane:    Tv:enty  Years  at  Hull  House,  (housing) 

Allen,  W.  H.:    Civics  and  Health,  (health) 

Antin,  M. :    At  School  in  the  Promised  Land,  (education) 

Aronovici,  C. :    The  Social  Survey,    (questions  for  surveying  your  community) 


28 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFK  IN  AMERICA 


Austin,  C.  P.:    Uncle  Sam's  Secrets,    (work  of  the  national  government.) 
Cooke,  M.  L. :    Our  Cities  Aivake.    (work  of  city  government) 
Curtis,  F.  R. :    T/ie  Collection  of  Social  Survey  Material,    (questions  for  sur- 
veying your  community) 
Curtis,  H.  S. :    The  Play  Mo'vement  and  Its  Significance,  (recreation) 
Crump,  I.:    The  Boy's  Book  of  Firemen,    (work  of  the  fire  department) 
Crump,  I.:    The  Boy's  Book  of  Policemen,    (work  of  the  police  department) 
Dunn,  A.  W. :   How  Presidents  are  Made,    (electing  our  national  President) 
DuPuy,  W.  A.:    Uncle  Sam,  Detective,    (work  of  the  national  government) 

  Uncle  Sam,  Fighter,     (work  of  the  national  government) 

  Uncle  Sam's  Modern  Miracles,    (work  of  the  national  govern- 
ment) 

  Uncle  Sam,  Wonder  Worker.     (work  of  the  national  govern- 
ment) 

Earle,  A.  M. :   Home  Life  in  Colonial  Days.-  (early  community  life) 
Forbush,  W.  B. :    The  Coming  Generation,    (children's  life) 
Fosdick,  R.  B.:    American  Police  Systems,    (work  of  the  police  department) 
Franc,  A,:    Use  Your  Government,    (work  of  the  national  government) 
Harrison,  S.  M. :    Social  Conditions  in  an  American  City,     (a  survey  of  com- 
munity life  in  Springfield,  111.) 
Howe,  F.  C. :    The  Modern  City  and  Hs  Problems,    (discusses  city  government) 
Hutchinson,  W. :    Community  Hygiene,  (health) 

James,  H.  G. :    A  Hartdbook  of  Civic  Improvement,    (questions  for  surveying 
your  community) 

Kenngott,  G.  F. :  The  Record  of  a  City,  (a  survey  of  community  life  in  Lowell, 
Mass.) 

Kinlon,  J.:    Fire  and  Fire  Fighters,    (work  of  the  fire  department) 
McAdoo,  W. :    Guarding  a  Great  City,    (work  of  the  police  department) 
McCall,  S.  W. :    The  Business  of  Congress,    (work  of  our  national  Congress) 
McPheters,  G.  A.,  &  Cleaveland,  G.  J.  A.  &  Jones,  S.  W.:    Citizenship  Dram- 
atized,   (outlines  dramatization  of  various  government  activities) 
Marriott,  C. :    Uncle  Sam's  Business,    (work  of  the  national  government) 
Muir,  John.:    Our  National  Parks,    (recreation  and  civic  beauty) 
Nelson,  J.:    Neiv  Ideals  in  Planning  Cities,    (city  planning) 
Orth,  S.  P.    The  Boss  and  the  Machine,    (political  parties) 
Patri,  A.:   A  Schoolmaster  in  a  Great  City,  (education) 

Rightor,  C.  E. :    The  City  Manager  in  Dayton,    (new  business  management  in 

city  government) 
Riis  J.  A.:    The  Battle  with  the  Slums,  (housing) 

Southworth,  G.  V.  D.  &  Kramer,  S.  E.:    Great  Cities  in  the  United  States,  (city 
life) 

Towne,  E. :    Social  Problems. 

Willman,  F.  L. :   A  Day  in  Court,    (courts  and  justice) 

Zeublin,  C.  A.:   American  Municipal  Progress,    (city  government) 

III.  Reference  Books 

American  Yearbook. 

Bliss,:    Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform. 

Publications  issued  by  the  City  of  Clinton,  111.: 

Annual  Reports  of  City  Departments. 

Course  of  Study  for  Clinton  Illinois. 

Ordinances. 

Social  Histories  of  Clinton. 
Congressional  Directory. 
Congressional  Record. 

Cushing,  L.  C. :    Manual  of  Parliamentary  Practice. 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Government. 

Democratic  Party  National   Handbook,  1920. 
^Illinois  Blue  Book.     (state  manual) 

Republican  Party  and  National  Handbook,  1920. 

United  States  Statistical  Abstracts. 
^World  Almanac,  1923. 


ORGANIZING  A  CIVIC  LABORATORY 


29 


IV.  Magazines  for  Reference 

The  American  City.  [Note:  This  magazine  has  published  a  series  of  70  pam- 
phlets on  all   aspects  of  city  government.     Write  Civic  Press,   154  Nassau 

St.,  New  York  City.] 
American  Remeiv  of  Revieivs. 
Current  Opinion. 
The  Independent. 

The  Literary  Digest.  , 

The  National  Geographic  Magazine.^ 

The  National  Municipal  Remenv. 

The  Outlook. 

The  Searchlight. 

The  Survey. 

The  World's  Work. 

V.  Fiction 

Churchill,  Winston:  Coniston. 
Churchill,  W. :    Mr.  Creive's  Career. 
Doyle,  A.  C:   Adventures  of  Sherlock  Holmes. 
Gordon  C. :     (Ralph  Connor):    Corporal  Cameron. 
Gordon,  C.    (Ralph  Connor)  :  The  Doctor. 
Gordon,  C.     (Ralph  Connor)  :    The  Sky  Pilot. 
Grenfell,  W.  T. :    Tales  of  the  Labrador. 
Hale,  E.  E.:    The  Man  Without  a  Country. 
Howe,  E.  W. :    The  Story  of  a  Country  Tonrn. 
McSpadden  J.  W. :    Famous  Detective  Stories. 
Reeve,  A. :    Craig  Kennedy,  Detective. 
Tarkington,  Booth:    The  Gentleman  from  Indiana. 

VI.  Documentary  Material 

Here  is  a  Committee  Report  of  one  class  who  were  on  the  search  for 
documentary  material  in  making  a  survey  of  their  community. 

**We  are  at  work  collecting  documentary  material.  Already  we  have 
placed  in  our  civic  laboratory  the  following :  Sample  ballots,  tax  warrants, 
and  forms,  ordinances,  indictments,  sample  deeds,  a  city  map,  licenses,  and 
permits  of  various  kinds.  The  committee  on  Exhibits  is  gathering  material 
that  will  be  added  to  this  collection. 

"Miss  Carter  [the  librarian]  has  prepared  a  list  of  associations  and  bur- 
eaus who  publish  material  (pamphlets  and  bulletins)  that  will  be  sent  free 
on  request.  So  we  have,  with  her  help,  prepared  a  form  letter  and  Ethel  [a 
member  of  the  class]  has  mailed  it  to  the  following  associations  and  govern- 
ment businesses: 

American  Civic  Association,  913  Union  Trust  Bldg,,  Washington,  D.  C. 
American  Highway  Association,  Colorado  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
American  National  Red  Cross,  1624  H.  St.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

American  Prison  Association,  Secretary  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Corrections, 
Trenton,  N.  J. 

American  Public  Health  Association,  755  Boylston  St.  Boston,  Mass. 
Chicago  Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency,  Chicago,  111. 
Legislative  Voters  League,  Springfield,  HI. 

National  Civic  Service  Reform  League,  79  Wall  St.,  New  York  City. 
National  Conference  for  City  Planning,  19  Congress  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 
National  Housing  Association,  105  E.  22nd  St.,  New 'York  City. 


30 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFK  IN  AMliRICA 


National  Municipal  League,  North  American  Bldg.,  Philadelphia,  Pa, 
National  Short  Hal  lot  Organization,  383  Fourth  Ave.,  New  York  City. 
Playgrounds  Association  of  America,  1  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City. 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  165  E.  22nd  St.,  New  York  City. 
United  States  Postmaster  CJeneral  Washington,  D.  C. 

"         '*      Cieological  Survey  "  " 

"         "       Bureau  of  Mines  "  " 

"         "      Reclamation  Service  "  " 

"         "       Department  of  Agriculture  "  ** 

"         "  "  "   Commerce  "  " 

"         "  "  "   Labor  "  " 

"         "       Interstate   Commerce   Commission  "  " 

"         "       Civil  Service  Commission  "  " 

State  Board  of  Health,  Springfield,  111. 

"   Fire  Marshall  "  " 

State  Public  Utilities  Commission  Springfield,  111. 

"     Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections  "  " 

"     Highway  Commission  "  " 

"     Fish  and  Game  Commission  <<  u 

"  •   Workmen's  Compensation  Commission  "  " 

"     Labor  Board  "  " 

"     Board  of  Agriculture  u  u 

"        "       "  Education,  "  " 

"     Legislative  Reference  Bureau  *' 

"The  teacher  and  the  librarian  are  also  going  to  help  us  start  a  clipping 
file.  Will  club  members  contribute  old  newspapers  and  magazines  so  that 
we  may  clip  interesting  events,  charts,  and  pictures  about  government  ?  The 
clippings  will  be  pasted  on  cards  and  filed  in  our  filing  cabinet  for  future 
reference.  In  a  short  time,  w^e  will  have  a  very  valuable  collection  of  this 
kind  of  reference  material. 

"The  Committee  also  recommend  that  the  club  discuss  whether  each 
member  will  subscribe  to  some  magazine.  It  is  urged  that  we  spend  one 
period  a  week  discussing  current  events,  the  committee  on  currents  to  be 
responsible  for  this  class  period.  If  we  do  this  a  magazine  could  be  used  as 
a  textbook  for  the  class  exercise. 

"In  conclusion,  the  Committee  wish  to  say  that  they  will  add  to  this 
list  of  references  from  time  to  time  and  publish  supplementary  lists.  The 
committee  wish  to  thank  Mr.  Allen,  Miss  Carter  and  Miss  Kelley,  the 
city  librarian,  for  their  help  and  counsel,  in  preparing  this  report,  and  for 
the  material  that  they  have  placed  at  our  disposal.  Most  of  the  general 
community  civics  books  are  the  property  of  Mr.  Allen,  as  is  the  collection 
of  documents.  We  must  use  great  care  in  handling  this  material  in  order 
that  it  may  be  returned  to  its  owners  in  as  good  condition  as  when  lent. 

Respectfully  Submitted, 

Lawrence  Nelson,  Chairman 
Nellie  Ellsworth, 

Library  Committee." 


ORGANIZING  A  CIVIC  LABORATORY 


31 


To  the  Teacher:  This  list  of  references  is  included 
as  a  guide  for  use  in  your  class  when  pupils  begin  the 
study  of  their  own  community.  The  bibliographies  in 
many  of  these  books  contain  other  worthwhile  refer- 
ences. The  social  surveys  listed  are  helpfully  suggest- 
ive as  to  methods  of  investigating  community  life.  Maga- 
zine references  have  not  been  included  because  of  the 
great  numbers  of  articles  that  are  available.  By  all 
means  have  your  pupils  use  the  Reader's  Guide  for 
magazine  articles  on  their  various  topics.  The  files  of 
The  American  City  are  excellent  sources  for  concrete 
up-to-date  material  on  city  government. 

If  possible  have  your  class  organize  a  civic  laboratory 
along  the  line  suggested  in  this  section. 


SECTION  VI. 

THE  INDUSTRIES  AND  THE  PEOPLE  OF 
A  COMMUNITY 

What  kinds  of  people  make  up  your  community?  Are  they  all  well- 
to-do  people — business  men,  lawyers,  doctors,  clergymen,  teachers?  Is  your 
town,  by  chance,  one  of  those  few  suburban  towns  to  which  only  tired  busi- 
ness men  from  some  near-by  metropolitan  city  retire  after  work  hours?  Is 
it  therefore  without  factories,  shops,  or  mills? 

Or  is  yours  a  town  of  cotton  mills,  woolen  mills,  silk  mills,  and  machine 
shops,  where  thousands-  of  spinning  spindles  and  whirring  looms  are  tended 
by  weary  workmen?  If  so,  most  of  the  people  would  be  mechanics,  weavers, 
spinners,  machinists,  carpenters,  mill-wrights,  and  what  not,  by  trade. 

Or  is  your  community  perchance  a  placid  little  college  town  of  two  or 
three  thousand  inhabitants?  Has  it  a  quiet  and  dignified  residential  district 
flanking  the  single  square  of  brick  paved  business  streets  that  are  built  up 
around  the  college?  If  so,  college  professors,  college  students,  and  small 
tradesmen  and  their  families,  with  a  few  lawyers,  doctors,  and  clergymen 
make  up  "the  people." 

Maybe  instead,  it  is  a  retired-farmers'  town  set  in  the  midst  of  great 
prairies  of  corn  and  wheat.  So  ?  Then  the  residences  are  those  of  farmers ; 
a  few  artisans  are  about,  and  schools  and  trading  form  the  chief  business  of 
the  community.  If  none  of  these,  can  it  be  a  town  of  clacking  shoe  shops 
like  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  or  of  clammy  fish  markets  like  Gloucester? 

Whatever  kind  of  town  it  is,  there  is  one  thing  you  should  learn  about 
it:  What  do  its  industries  have  to  do  with  the  kinds  of  people  who  live 
in  it? 

EXERCISE. 

Appoint  a  committee  to  report  to  your  class  on  this  matter.  Either  have 
the  committee  or  the  whole  class  draw  up  a  list  of  the  chief  industries  of  the 
community.  From  each  of  the  principal  factories,  banking  houses,  stores, 
or  other  large  business  enterprises,  secure  publications  that  describe  their 
industry.    Be  sure  to  find  out  these  things: 

How  many  employees  have  they  doing  certain  kinds  of  work? 
About  how  much  do  they  earn  per  day,  or  per  week  or  month  ? 
About  how  many  days  are  the  workers  out  of  work  each  year? 


INDUSTRIES  AND  PEOPLE 


33 


From  these  facts  you  can  figure  out  the  approximate  income  of  the 
workers  per  year  in  each  of  the  principal  occupations  represented  in  the  com- 
munity. Inquire  from  people  about  town  how  much  carpenters,  plumbers, 
and  masons  are  paid  per  day.  Remember  that  recent  investigations  of  the 
Federated  Engineering  Societies,  made  under  Herbert  Hoover's  direction, 
show  that  such  workmen  are  out  of  work  about  30  per  cent  of  the  time. 
This  being  true,  about  what  is  the  average  annual  income  per  worker  in 
each  industry? 

In  the  same  way  find  out  the  incomes  of  the  clerks  in  the  stores  of  the 
city,  and  of  stenographers  and  other  clerical  workers.  Are  there  steel  work- 
ers in  your  home  town?  coal  miners?  weavers?  shoe-makers?  canners? 
Find  out  the  approximate  wages  and  income  of  the  workers  in  each  of  the 
principal  trades. 

Why  get  these  facts?  Because  they  tell  you  so  much  about  your  com- 
munity.   Your  "community,"  after  all,  is  chiefly  the  people  who  live  there. 

The  work  carried  on  in  the  town  determines,  in  most 
cases,  the  kind  of  people  who  live  there. 

Can  you  prove  that  statement  now?  How  about  using  the  figures  you 
have  on  wages  and  income  to  do  so  ?  What  do  they  tell  you  about  the 
people  ?  Do  they  not  tell  you  something  very  important  about  the  economic 
well-being  of  the  people?  For  example,  if  you  knew  nothing  more  about 
a  community  than  that  it  was  a  shop  and  mill  town  and  that  the  average 
income  of  the  people  was  $1200  a  year,  couldn't  you  almost  describe  the 
town  to  a  stranger?  You  would  know  that  Mr.  Average  Man  could  pay 
not  more  than  say  $300.00  a  year — or  about  25.00  a  month — for  rent.  (Ex- 
'pert  students  of  "family  budgets"  estimate  that  it  is  not  safe  for  a  family 
to  spend  more  than  25  per  cent  of  its  income  for  rent.)  What  kind  of  a 
house  or  tenement  or  apartment  could  be  rented  for  $25.00  a  month?  Cer- 
tainly not  a  luxurious  one,  for  Mr.  Average  Man's  family  numbers  five 
persons  and  so  he  must  have  at  least  five  rooms, — he  ought  to  have  six. 

Of  course  it  is  practically  impossible  for  Mr.  Average  Man  to  save 
enough  to  own  his  home.  Suppose  he  had  built  a  modest  little  house  cost- 
ing say  $6,000.  Perhaps  he  had  saved  enough  to  pay  $1,500  for  the  lot  and 
had  received  a  loan  of  $4500  from  the  Building  and  Loan  Association  to 
build  the  house.  He  would  have  to  pay  6  per  cent  interest  on  that  loan,  or 
$270  a  year.  In  addition,  he  would  have  to  pay  taxes  of  say  $100  a  year 
and  he  would  have  to  pay  for  repairs  which  in  the  long  run  would  average 
$100  a  year.  Thus  his  "rent"  would  cost  him  nearly  $500  a  year — a  sum 
quite  beyond  his  means.  The  case  of  Mr.  Average  Man  is  typical  of  the 
situations  of  several  million  mechanics  in  America  who  earn  at  the  present 
time  less  than  $1200  a  year  and  who  are  barely  able  to  make  ends  meet. 


34 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFK  IN  AMERICA 


So  Study  the  incomes  of  the  people  in  your  community.  Perhaps  you 
will  be  able  to  obtain  information,  too,  about  the  "family  budget"  of  typical 
people  in  your  community.  The  "family  budget"  shows  how  much  they 
spend  each  year  for  each  of  the  following  items: 


Rent  Medical  expenses 

Food  Vacation 

Clothing  Charity 

Education  Church  and  fraternal  organizations 

Books  Recreation  (theatre,  music,  etc.) 


Do  the  Industries  of  the  Town  determine  the  Nationalities 
of  the  Population? 

Come  back  to  our  statement  that  the  work  carried  on  in  the  town  de- 
termines the  kind  of  people  who  live  there.  How  do  industries  affect  the 
nationalities  that  make  up  a  community  ?  You  have  already  found  out  what 
an  immigrant  country  America  is  and  especially  how  the  foreign  born  are 
concentrated  in  the  northern  "industrial  zone."  82  per  cent  of  our  foreign 
born  live  there.  What  kinds  of  work  did  wt  find  they  were  doing?  If 
you  cannot  remember  get  out  your  copy  of  America  and  Her  Immigrants 
and  review  pages  118-143. 

If  your  town  is  a  steel  or  a  coal  mining  town,  therefore,  you  know  that 

there  must  be  many  

 (What  nationalities?).    Probably  if  it  is  a  textile  town  there  are  many 

foreign-born,  too. 

You  Need  to  Have  a  Graph  of  the  Nationalities 
in  the  Community. 

Appoint  a  committee  to  collect  the  facts  about  the  nationalities  within 
your  community.  Then  have  this  same  committee  make  a  graph  to  hang 
on  the  wall  which  will  show  the  number  of  inhabitants  born  in  each  of  the 
different  countries  represented  in  the  population  of  the  community. 

Another  thing  that  ought  to  be  studied  is  the  number  of  workers  of  each 
nationality  in  each  of  the  principal  occupations.  However,  it  will  probably 
be  somewhat  difficult  to  find  the  facts  on  this  matter.  Search  the  volume 
of  the  1920  United  States  Census,  especially  the  tables  that  deal  with  "oc- 
cupations" and  "manufactures,"  and  you  may  find  figures  on  the  number 
of  people  engaged  in  difierent  occupations.  It  may  be  worth  the  time  of 
your  committee  to  make  a  real  search  for  the  facts.  Ask  the  city  librarian 
and  officials  at  the  city  Hall  to  help  you. 


Following  up  your  study  of  the  matter  have  a  round  table  discussion  of 
this  question :  Do  the  industries  and  the  kinds  of  business  carried  on  in  a 
town  determine  the  kinds  of  people  who  live  there  ? 


SECTION  VII 
QUESTIONS  AND  DEBATES  ON  SECTIONS  I  TO  VI 

1.  Name  as  many  types  of  American  towns  and  cities  as  you  can  think  of. 

2.  From  your  map  exercises  what  would  you  say  were  the  outstanding 
characteristics  of  your  town?  Is  it  a  progressive  town,  or  a  stand-still 
town?    If  progressive,  in  what  ways? 

3.  What  are  some  of  the  things  in  your  town  that  seem  to  you  to  need 
improvement  ? 

4.  Which  do  you  think  has  the  most  advantages,  the  town  or  the  city? 
What  are  some  of  the  advantages  of  one  over  the  other? 

Debates 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  small  town  is  a  more  desirable  place  to  live  in 
than  the  large  city. 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  industries  in  our  town  have  determined  the 
nationalities  who  live  there. 


SECTION  VIII 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 

35,000,000  people  in  America  are  living  in  houses 
below  standard. 

One  third  of  the  people  in  our  country — 7,000,000  families — do  not 
have  a  really  comfortable,  healthful,  and  attractive  house  to  live  in!  That 
sounds  very  much  like  a  national  calamity,  doesn't  it?  How  many  people 
in  your  town  are  in  that  fix?  How  many  are  living  in  crowded  and  dark 
rooms?  How  many  have  no  running  water,  no  bath-room,  no  gas  or 
electric  lights  ?  How  many  have  no  green  grass  around  their  homes — no 
clean  yards?  Are  there  some  people  who  cannot  even  see  green  grass  the 
year  round  and  who  live  in  such  narrow  crowded  streets  that  it  is  difficult 
even  to  see  the  blue  sky? 

We  are  not  exaggerating  the  importance  of  this  problem — it  is  one  of 
the  most  serious  ones  America  faces.  The  people  of  a  nation  cannot  be 
contented  and  happy,  they  cannot  continue  to  be  a  great  world  power, — 
more  important  still,  they  cannot  develop  an  appreciation  of  fine  and  beauti- 
ful things  unless  the  houses  that  they  live  in  are  healthful,  comfortable,  and 
attractive. 

"By  their  houses  you  can  judge  a  people." 

One  of  the  most  necessary  things  for  you  to  study  in  your  community  is 
the  way  the  people  are  housed.  What  kinds  of  dwellings  abound  in  your 
town?  Apartments,  fine  brick  single  houses,  mansions,  tenements,  two-fam- 
ily houses,  "company-shacks"?  Is  there  a  section  of  tenements,  a  section  of 
fine  residences,  another  section  of  apartments?  Or  just  what  kinds  of  dwell- 
ings are  there  ? 


Do  people  in  your  town  live  in  "houses"  like 
those  shown  in  Figs.  2  and  3? 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN  37 

Congestion  in  such  tenements  as  these  endangers  the  health  of  the  city. 


This   is  a  picture  of  "The  Ghetto"   in  New   York  City — the   heart  of 
the  largest  Jewish  community  in  the  world. 

Fig.  21 

1  From  Steiner,  E.  A.:  "On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co 
New  York,  1900. 


38 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFR  IN  AMKRICA 


C'aii  you  imagine  300  people  living  in  this  building?  What  rules 
of  health  must  they  violate  in  living  under  such  conditions? 


A  block  in  Lowell  of  forty-eight  tenements  which  houses  three 
hundred  people. 

Fig.  31 


What  about  the  health  conditions  of  a  family  living  in  such  a  room 
as  this  one  with  two  small  windows  that  won't  open?  It  has  been  the 
living  room  of  a  family  of  four  people. 


Fig.  42 


iFrom  Kenngott,  G.  P.:  "The  Record  of  a  City,"  Photograph  No.  20.  The  Mac- 
millan  Company,  New  York,  1912. 

2  From  Schneider,  Franz,  Jr.:  "A  Public  Health  Survey  of  Topeka,"  page  64; 
Department  of  Surveys  and  Exhibits,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York,  1914. 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


39 


Housing  Among  the  Colored  Population 
Many  of  the  houses  had  ample  yards,  but  cases  were  numerous  where 
landlords  had  not  provided  houses  meeting  even 
minimum  recognized  standards. 
Fig.  51 

This  heap  of  decaying  garbage  and  trash  lies  at  the  entrance  of  a 
tenement  house.  How  is  it  likely  to  affect  the  health  of  the  people  in  that 
neighborhood  ? 


A  Disgrace  to  any  City. 
  Fig.  62 

1  Harrison,  S.  M. :  "Social  Conditions  in  an  American  City." 

2  From  Hutchinson,  Woods:  "Community  Hygiene,"  page  109.  Houghton 
Mifflin  Company,  Boston,  1919. 


40 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Is  this  a  desirable  background  in  which  to  ask  children  to  play? 
Contrast  this  picture  with  the  one  of  Fig.  8. 


Fig.  71 


In  the  home  shown  in  Fig.  7  there  is  poor  light,  little  air,  dirt, 
disorder,  while  in  those  of  Figs,  8  and  9  there  is  plenty  of  good  air  and 
light,  and  clean,  attractive  rooms. 


An  Ideal  City  and  Alley  and  Back  Yards. 
Clean  grass  on  which  to  play,  neat  garbage  cans,  trim  walks,  no 
trash  lying  about,  and  no  place  for  flies  to  breed — this  is  the  way  a 
self-respecting  and  hygienic  community  likes  to  keep  its  back  yards  and 
alleys.  Fig.  82 


iFrom  The  American  City;  Vol.  XVIII,  page  407.  The  Civic  Press,  New  York. 
2  From  Hutchinson,  Woods:  op.  cit.,  page  117. 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


41 


Health  and  Good  Taste  in  the  Living  Room. 
Notice  the  big  swinging  window,  the  door  opening  out  on  the  piazza, 
the  comfortable  chair  and  couch,  the  few  good  ornaments  and  pictures, 
and  somebody's  collection  of  ribbons  and  medals  just  below  the  shelf. 
Wouldn't  you  think  that  a  happy  and  healthy  family  lived  in  this  house? 

Fig.  91 

What  do  the  pictures  tell  you  about  the  seriousness  of  "the  housing  prob- 
lem"? Do  you  think  America  has  one?  Is  there  a  housing  problem  in 
your  own  community?  That  is  one  of  the  most  important  matters  for  you 
to  survey. 

During  the  past  twenty  years,  in  city  after  city,  investigations  of  the 
houses  have  been  made  by  experts.  Many  books  have  been  written  on  the 
subject.  They  all  tell  the  same  story  of  large  buildings  crowded  onto  nar- 
row lots;  of  high  buildings  so  close  to  each  other  that  there  is  little  or  no 
space  for  ventilation,  light,  grass,  or  playground;  of  thousands  of  dark  and 
windowless  rooms,  of  lack  of  running  water  or  sanitary  conveniences;  of 
terrifying  fire  hazards ;  of  hundreds  of  buildings  out  of  repair  and  in  a  gen- 
eral state  of  delapidation ;  and  even  of  thousands  of  people  living  in  damp 
dark  cellars  and  basements. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  we  want  you  to  survey  the  houses  of  your  com- 
munity? You  ought  to  know  what  such  ''homes"  look  like. 


1  From  Hutchinson,  Woods:  op.  cit.,  page  89. 


42 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


It  IS  THE  Army  of  the  Unskilled  Workers  who  need  Better  Houses 

Now  it  may  be  that  there  is  no  housing  problem  in  your  community. 
Fortunate  you  are  if  that  is  so.  A  community  without  a  housing  problem  is 
not  only  fortunate,  but  exceptional.  If  yours  happens  to  be  one  of  these,  it 
must  be  that  you  do  not  have  a  large  semi-skilled  and  relatively  unskilled 
population.  How  can  one  be  so  sure  of  that?  Simply  because  it  has  been 
proved  that  the  people  who  are  housed  badly  in  America  are  the  semi-skilled 
and  unskilled  workers.  Furthermore,  the  millions  of  workers  in  our  cities 
make  up  the  great  masses  of  our  people.  Total  all  the  skilled  workmen  and 
the  professional  workers  in  America  and  you  will  find  that  you  have  a  far 
smaller  group  than  the  army  of  "unskilled." 

The  housing  problem,  then,  is  one  of  providing  decent  living  conditions 
for  the  unskilled  wage-earner.  The  professional  man  and  the  business  man, 
and  even  the  skilled  mechanic,  have  wages  or  salaries  in  most  cases  suffi- 
cient to  enable  them  tp  obtain  reasonably  good  living  quarters.  The  condi- 
tion of  the  unskilled  laborer  is  very  different.  Before  the  World  War, 
1914,  the  average  wage  in  the  United  States  was  about  $700.  That  means 
that  there  were  as  many  people  receiving  less  than  $700,  as  there  were 
more  than  $700.  Now  we  are  not  concerned  with  the  small  percentage 
earning  $1500-$2000  or  more,  nor  with  the  skilled  mechanic  who  earns 
more  than  $1000  annually.  Rather  we  are  concerned  to  find  out  who  the 
unskilled  wage-earners  are.  They  consist  principally  of  these  groups :  ( 1 ) 
The  negroes,  who  in  1910  made  up  10.7%  of  our  population;  (2)  The 
foreign-born,  who  in  that  same  year  compromised  14.9%.  These  two  groups 
total  25.6%  of  our  whole  population.  (3)  The  native  whites  of  foreign- 
born  or  mixed  parentage  constitute  20.5%  of  the  American  people.  Let 
us  assume  that  a  third  of  this  46.1%  still  live  at  home  with  their  parents  in 
the  foreign  quarters  and  slums  and  are  therefore  not  under  the  expense  of 
maintaining  separate  households.  The  remainder  is  about  30%,  which  means 
that  nearly  a  third  of  our  population  were  living  under  subnormal  housing 
conditions  in  1914.  Assume  also  that  the  unskilled  wage-earners  made  $2.50 
a  day  before  the  war.  (It  was  probably  not  higher  than  this  for  we  know 
that  ditch-diggers  received  $1.75  to  $2.00  a  day,  and  steel  workers  $11.00 
to  $14.00  a  week.)  Bear  in  mind  that  while  wages  are  a  good  deal  higher 
since  the  war,  these  estimates  are  valid  because  wages  rose  only  80  to  90 
per  cent  as  fast  as  did  the  cost  of  living.  Therefore,  the  unskilled  wage 
earner  really  gets  less  for  his  wages  today  than  he  did  in  1914.  Let  us 
further  assume  that  the  average  ditch-digger  worked  300  days  a  year  (leav- 
ing out  Sundays,  but  making  no  allowance  for  rainy  days,  sickness,  seasonal 
labor,  or  unemployment).  At  most,  his  income  would  be  $750.00  per 
year.    In  almost  all  cases  it  would  actually  be  a  great  deal  less. 

Experts  on  the  cost  of  living  assert  that  the  budget  in  a  typical  family 
(man,  wife,  and  3  children)  should  apportion  not  more  than  one-fourth 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


43 


for  rent,  preferably  only  one-fifth.  This  means  that  people  of  this  group 
cannot  pay  over  $12.50  a  month,  if  they  allot  a  fifth,  and  not  over  $15.45, 
of  they  allot  a  fourth  to  rent,  about  $3.00  or  $3.75  a  week.  Such  a  family 
of  five  also  needs  at  least  four  rooms.  This  should  give  you  some  appreci- 
ation of  the  difficulties  the  unskilled  wage-earner  has  to  contend  with  in 
getting  reasonably  decent  living  conditions.  Here  are  two  more  bits  of  evi- 
dence on  the  situation: 

Public  Health  Bulletin  No.  76  (U.  S.  Treasury  Dept.  1916)  says  that 
two-thirds  (%)  of  the  male  workers  18  years  of  age  and  over  in  the  prin- 
cipal industries  of  the  country  receive  less  than  $15.00  a  week.  A  New 
Jersey  report,  Feb.  1918,  states  that  two-thirds  (%)  of  the  wage-earners  in 
that  State  receive  less  than  $780.00  per  year. 

Studies  as  to  the  cost  of  living  in  1918  estimated  the  minimum  income  es- 
sential to  obtain  the  barest  necessities  was  $875  to  $1,000  annually  for  a 
family  of  five. 

These  figures  are  additional  evidence  on  why  people  in  this  group  seek 
living  quarters  in  the  poor  sections  of  the  city.  This  does  not  mean,  how- 
ever, that  the  community  and  the  nation  are  not  obligated  to  insist  that  at 
least  the  minimum  standards  of  sanitation  and  safety  be  afforded  these 
people. 


Can  you  give  two  reasons  why  the  problem  of  housing  relates  princi- 
pally to  the  unskilled  wage-earners? 

Can  you  state  the  evidence  that  money  sufficient  to  rent  even  a  modest 
four-room  house  is  not  available  for  these  people? 


Before  leaving  the  question  let  us  study  further  the  effect  of  bad  hous- 
ing, as  given  by  reports  made  after  investigating  conditions  in  our  larger 
cities.  If  you  feel  that  these  examples  may  be  exceptional,  remember  that 
cities  of  all  sizes  are  rapidly  growing  larger  and  larger,  and  that  as  they 
grow  their  problems  of  congestion,  housing,  health,  and  recreation  become 
increasingly  serious.    First,  let  us  take  New  York  City. 

Summarizing  conditions  in  that  city  the  investigators  found  that  2,372,- 
079  people  out  of  a  population  of  3,437,202  (1900)  were  living  in  86,652 
of  these  so-called  tenements.  By  a  "tenement"  was  meant  any  building  in 
which  at  least  three  families  lived.  In  these  tenements,  it  was  found  by  the 
Commission  that  there  were  about  350,000  dark  rooms.  Up  to  that  time 
it  had  been  the  custom  to  build  these  tenements  with  six  or  eight  rooms 
on  each  floor,  one  back  of  another,  then  to  divide  the  rooms  into  two  flats — 
front  and  back.  As  a  result  the  four  to  six  inner  rooms  were  dark  and  each 
family  in  consequence  had  two  or  three  windowless  and  dark  rooms.  Tall 
buildings  on  the  whole  area  of  the  lot  cut  off  the  light  still  more,  particularly 


44 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFli  IN  AMERICA 


on  the  lower  floors.  Halls  also  were  found  to  be  dark.  Most  buildings  from 
the  point  of  view  of  sanitation  were  very  bad  indeed.  Bathing  facilities 
were  limited.  Just  one  faucet  of  running  water — at  the  entrance,  or  on 
the  first  floor  of  a  tenement  which  housed  several  score  of  tenants,  was 
common.  While  improvements  in  housing  conditions  have  been  made  and 
while  new  buildings  are  forced  to  conform  to  these  improved  standards, 
there  is,  nevertheless,  much  room  for  improvement  in  this  metropolitan  tene- 
ment area. 

Chicago  next.   A  survey  of  44  blocks  in  one  district  of  Chicago  showed : 

1.  That  buildings  in  2  of  the  blocks  covered  75%  of  the  area  of  the  block. 

2.  "         "         14  other     "         "  70% 

3.  "         "         20  other      "         "  65% 

"People  are  crowded  into  the  basements.  The  dark  passageways  be- 
tween the  houses  are  almost  the  only  open  spaces  in  the  block.  The  view 
shows  clearly  the  small  dilapidated  rear  houses,  the  poorly  constructed  two- 
story  frame  and  large  three-story  brick  tenements.  .  .  .  There  are  several 
new  brick  tenements  covering  a  large  percentage  of  the  lot.  The  rear  of 
almost  every  lot  has  a  brick  tenement,  or  a  small  frame  house.  Almost  the 
only  open  spaces  are  the  passages,  the  streets  and  alleys  with  their  filth  and 
garbage  boxes.  .  . 

"Another  block  has  a  population  of  over  one  thousand  people.  The 
ugliness  of  the  street,  its  wretched  tenements,  and  its  ill-smelling  garbage 
boxes  in  front  of  each  house  cannot  be  imagined  from  the  photograph." 

As  cities  grow  people  crowd  together.    Is  that  con- 
ducive to  the  development  of  a  free,  com- 
fortable, and  happy  people? 

Study  these  figures : 


Name  of  City  Gross 

area  in  acres 

Population 

Persons  to  the  acre. 

Norfolk,  Va. 

2,240.0 

46,624 

20.8 

Waterbury,  Conn. 

2,400.0 

45,859 

19.0 

Holyoke,  Mass. 

10,464.0 

45,712 

4.0 

Ft.  Wayne,  Ind. 

3,300.0 

45,115 

13.6 

Youngstown,  O. 

6,144.0 

44,885 

7.4 

Four  crowded  dis- 

tricts in  Chicago 

221.3 

45,643 

206.2 

"The  area  of  Chicago  is  187  square  miles,  which  contain  119,768  acres. 
At  200  persons  per  acre  this  area  would  hold  a  population  of  23,953,600, 
and  at  270  persons  per  acre  it  would  house  32,337,360.  Let  one  imagine 
this  vast  multitude  of  people,  equal  to  the  whole  population  of  England,  on 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


45 


the  present  area  of  Chicago  and  he  will  have  an  idea  of  what  is  meant  by  a 
population  of  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  seventy  persons  per 
acre.  The  density  of  some  of  the  blocks  is  over  four  thousand  per  acre. 
If  this  were  extended  over  the  whole  area  it  would  mean  that  nearly  the 
entire  population  of  the  United  States  fifteen  years  ago  could  be  housed  in 
Chicago.  This,  however,  is  far  from  being  the  maximum  density  possible, 
for  a  large  part  of  these  districts  is  covered  with  small  detached  buildings. 
In  one  lot  of  less  than  one-seventh  of  an  acre  in  one  of  the  newer  tenements 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  people  are  housed,  or  at  the  rate  of  nine  hundred 
per  acre."  Applying  this  figure  to  the  whole  area  of  the  city  would  mean  that 
the  present  population  of  the  United  States  could  be  housed  in  Chicago. 


How  ''alleys"  develop  in  large  cities.    Are  they  as  good  places  to 
live  as  streets  or  open  country?    Study  the  next  figures 
to  answer  the  question. 

In  Washington,  D.  C.  there  grew  up  a  peculiar  housing  problem — that 
of  the  ''alley  home." 

Washington  is  one  of  the  few  planned  or  "made"  cities.  Major  I'Enfant 
was  hired  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago  to  plan  the  national 
capital.  He  designed  the  city  with  wide  streets  and  avenues.  Consequently, 
these  city  lots  were  deep  and  in  recent  years  beyond  the  means  of  the  poorer 
citizens.  Hence,  the  alleys  between  the  streets  became  the  dwelling  places 
of  the  poorer  people.  Particularly  did  this  become  prevalent  when,  follow- 
ing the  influx  of  negro  slaves  after  the  Civil  War,  it  was  found  that  the 
erection  of  cheap  tenements  for  the  negroes  was  very  profitable.  The  prin- 
cipal trouble  here  has  not  been  lack  of  air  or  light,  but  poor  sanitary  meas- 
ures. Neither  sewers  nor  water  mains  were  found  in  these  alleys.  Hy- 
drants were  for  many  people  the  only  available  water  supply.  Neither 
were  there  pavements  or  lights,  and  no  provision  for  garbage  removal.  Re- 
cently conditions  have  been  improved  somewhat,  and  further  building  in 
the  alleys  of  Washington  has  been  forbidden  by  our  national  Congress. 

Pavements  have  been  laid  and  street  lights  installed.  Few  such  houses 
have  running  water. 

Table  V. 

The  Death  Rates  in  Washington  at  Different  Times: 
In  the  alleys  in  1875,  the  death  rate  was  65  per  1000  population. 
In  the  alleys  in  1912,  the  death  rate  was  28  per  1000  population. 
But  in  the  streets  in  1912,  the  death  rate  was  17  per  1000  population. 

One  baby  out  of  every  four  born  in  the  alleys  dies  within  a  year.  The 
death  rate  for  tuberculosis  among  negroes  is  fifty  per  cent  higher  than  among 


46 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFI-   IN  AMHRICA 


colored  people  living  in  huildiny;s  that  face  on  the  street.  Moreover,  the 
report  asserts  that  crime  is  worse  in  the  hidden  recesses  of  the  alley.  The 
police  court  records  in  Washington  show  the  percentage  of  arrests  in  the 
total  population  to  he  10.3;  the  percentage  of  arrests  of  colored  people  to. the 
total  negro  population  18.93.  But  in  four  alleys  with  a  population  of  540 
people  the  percentage  of  arrests  was  35.93,  nearly  twice  the  percent  of  the 
arrests  in  the  general  population. 

As  you  study  the  situation  in  different  cities  and  the  remedies 
which  were  undertaken  have  in  rtiind  that  you  are  going  to 
find  out  the  housing  situation  in  your  community.  You  will 
also  want  to  propose  plans  for  improving  it. 

How  Housing  Has  Been  Improved 

About  twenty-five  years  ago  a  crusade  was  started  to  improve  the  living 
quarters  of  the  poor  people  of  our  great  cities.  One  of  the  greatest  leaders 
in  this  movement  was  Jacob  Riis,  an  immigrant  himself  who  lived  in  the 
meanest  of  slums  in  New  York  City.  He  afterward  came  to  be  a  very  prom- 
inent social  worker.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that  he  was  a  close  friend  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  Commissioner  of  Police  of  New  York  at  the  time. 
Roosevelt  helped  Riis  to  get  reforms  in  tenement  housing  put  through. 

One  of  the  things  that  was  done  was  to  build  model  tenements  to  rent  at 
low  rates  to  poor  people.  Real  estate  men  said  they  would  not  pay.  But 
they  did  pay,  and  think  of  what  they  did  for  the  health  and  happiness  of  the 
people  who  lived  in  them.  P^r  5^^, 

In  New  York  City  the  notable  model  buildings  were  the  Alfred  T. 
White  Tenements  and  those  of  the  City  and  Suburban  Homes  Company. 
When  Riis  wrote  his  report  about  them  in  1902,  the  latter  company  owned 
model  tenements  to  the  value  of  $6,336,228  and  they  accommodated  about 
11,000  people.  Dividends  of  4  to  5%  have  been  paid  on  the  property  an- 
nually during  the  eighteen  or  fwenty  years  they  have  been  built.  These 
buildings  are  clean  and  well  ventilated,  and  they  are  kept  sanitary  and  in 
a  good  state  of  repairs.  Rents  have  varied  from  $1.60  a  week  for  a  two- 
room  flat,  without  bath,  to  $5.00  a  week  for  four  rooms  and  a  bath. 

Riis  emphasized  the  fact  that  health  conditions  are  much  better  in  such 
buildings.  He  said  about  them:  "They  harbor  nearly  four  hundreds  of 
families,  as  contented  a  lot  as  I  ever  saw  anywhere.  The  one  tenant  who 
left  in  disgust  was  a  young  doctor  who  had  settled  on  the  estate,  thinking  he 
could  pick  up  a  practice  among  so  many,  but  he  could  not.  They  were  not 
often  sick,  those  tenants.  Last  year  only  three  died,  and  they  were  all  killed 
away  from  home.  So  he  had  good  cause  for  complaint.  The  rest  had  none, 
and  having  none,  they  stayed,  which  is  no  mean  blow  struck  for  the  home 
in  the  battle  with  the  slums." 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


47 


While  such  model  tenements  are  important  there  are  only  a  few  of  them. 
They  do  little  toward  solving  the  housing  problem  of  our  7,000,000  families 
of  unskilled  wage-earners  now  living  under  subnormal  conditions.  They 
are  important,  however,  as  actual  examples  of  what  can  be  accomplished 
if  we  could  stimulate  landlords  and  people  who  erect  houses  to  work  out 
similar  model  buildings.  But  the  minimum  legal  housing  requirements  are, 
as  a  rule,  the  only  things  these  people  can  be  made  to  conform  to.  Profit 
is  the  object  of  tenement-house  building  and  therefore  the  owners  exact  all 
they  can  get  by  way  of  rental.  But  health  standards  are  higher  in  the  model 
buildings. 

Should  something  be  done  to  compel  all  owners  of  apartments  to  pro- 
vide sanitary  buildings?  What  do  you  think?  Can  you  suggest  a  plan  to 
bring  this  about?    Have  a  class  discussion  of  it. 

The  Following  Facts  Show  that  it  Pays  to  be  Born  in  a 
Healthy  District.^ 

1.  In  districts  where  water  was  piped  into  the  homes  the  death  rate  was 
117.8  per  1000  population.  Where  water  was  not  piped  into  the 
homes  the  death  rate  was  197.9  per  1000. 

2.  In  the  homes  of  496  babies  where  bathtubs  were  available  the  death 
rate  was  72.6  per  1000.  In  the  homes  of  496  babies  where  bathtubs 
were  not  available,  the  death  rate  was  164.8  per  1000. 

3.  In  dry  homes  this  infant  death  rate  was  122.5  per  1000.  In  damp 
homes  this  infant  death  rate  was  156.7  per  1000. 

4.  In  the  homes  of  1389  babies  who  lived  one  month  or  more  the  mor- 
tality rate  of  babies  who  slept  in  rooms  rated  as  poorly  ventilated  was 
169.2  per  1000.  In  the  homes  of  1389  babies  who  lived  one  month 
or  more  the  mortality  rate  of  babies  who  slept  in  rooms  rated  as  well 
ventilated  W2LS  2SA  per  1000. 

Additional  evidence  is  found  in  the  testimony  of  Miss  Mildred  Chadsey, 
Chief  Sanitary  Inspector  of  the  Health  Department  of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
She  says:  "Our  city  has  prepared  a  set  of  pin  maps  that  show  where  cases 
of  tuberculosis,  contagious  diseases,  .  .  .  infant  deaths,  and  all  deaths  which 
have  occurred  during  the  year  are  marked.  It  has  prepared  another  set  of 
pin  maps  which  show  where  the  foul  plumbing,  the  dark  rooms,  the  over- 
crowded lots  are,  and  in  every  map  the  pins  have  gone  in  at  about  the  same 
places." 

What  does  that  prove  ? 


1  This  data  is  taken  from  pages  8  to  9  of  Aronovici:  "Housing  and  the  Housing 
Problem." 


48 


lOWN  AND  Cl\y  LIFIi  IN  AMliRlCA 


The  Need  for  Better  Houses  is  Too  Great  to  be  Satisfied  by 
tlie  Efforts  of  a  Few  Benevolent  Persons. 

Should  the  Government  Help  the  People  Get  Better  Houses? 

These  efforts  of  private  citizens  and  building  companies  are  fine  and 
helpful.  But  how  insufficient  they  are,  taken  altogether,  to  get  7,000,000 
people  into  better  houses!  What  can  be  done  about  it?  Two  things  can 
be  tried  :  first,  owners  of  buildings  generally  must  be  persuaded  to  help  by 
putting  up  only  houses  which  conform  to  acceptable  standards.  Improve- 
ments are  coming  in  this  direction,  but  very  slowly.  The  second  proposal 
is  have  the  government,  either  of  the  city,  state,  or  nation,  help  the  people 
buy  land  and  build  houses. 

This  second  proposal  of  government  help  has  been  tried  out  in  several 
places,  notably  in  Massachusetts  and  California.  What  kind  of  help  does 
the  man  of  small  means,  the  $1000  a  year  man,  need?  He  needs  to  have 
money  lent  to  him  at  a  low  rate  of  interest.  Otherwise  he  cannot  become 
an  owner  of  a  home. 

In  Massachusetts  the  legislature  finally  added  an  amendment  to  the 
State  Constitution  which  gave  the  State  the  power  to  build  houses  to  re- 
lieve congestion.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that  when  the  legislature  earlier 
passed  a  law  to  help  laborers  build  homes  the  State  Supreme  Court  decided 
that  the  law  could  not  be  enforced  because  it  did  not  agree  with  the  State 
Constitution.  The  Constitution,  however,  was  made  in  1780 — a  hundred 
and  thirty  years  before.  Although  life  in  every  state  had  changed  a  very 
great  deal  since,  the  Constitution  had  been  changed  only  slightly.  Imagine 
three  million  people  living  in  the  teeming  manufacturing  cities  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  1911  trying  to  make  laws  that  would  conform  with  a  constitu- 
tion made  in  1780  when  there  wasn't  a  single  manufacturing  city  in  the 
whole  country.  Of  course,  after  a  while  people  came  to  realize  that  it 
couldn't  be  done,  and  they  passed  amendments.  By  the  way,  how  well  that 
episode  illustrates  how  necessary  it  is  every  generation  or  so  to  make  consti- 
tutions over  almost  completely.  Conditions  in  America  are  changing  so 
fast  that  we  have  to  change  our  constitutions  to  keep  pace  with  them. 

Town-Planning  Boards  are  now  Required 
Not  much  progress  has  come  in  Massachusetts  as  a  result  of  the  new 
amendments  and  new  laws.  The  most  important  thing  accomplished  was 
to  require  each  town  of  10,000  people  or  more  to  appoint  a  town-planning 
board  whose  business  it  was  to  study  the  resources  and  needs  of  the  town, 
and  to  plan  ahead  for  the  proper  housing  of  the  people.  What  do  you  think 
of  a  law  like  that  ?  Would  it  be  a  good  thing  to  make  communities  plan  for 
the  future?  Would  such  a  "board,"  if  appointed  in  your  community  be 
likely  to  think  out  ways  of  relieving  congestion,  of  improving  streets,  squares, 
parks,  and  playgrounds,  of  building  more  and  better  houses? 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN  49 

Is  There  a  Town-Planning  Board  in  Your  Community?  Find  out 
in  making  your  Survey.  Should  There  be  One  ?  What  Would  it  Do  ? 

The  work  of  the  California  Commission  on 
Immigration  and  Housing 

California  is  another  state  which  is  helping  communities  to  improve  their 
housing  conditions. 

The  control  of  housing  was  given  to  this  Commission  whose  primary 
work  Was  with  the  immigrant,  because  it  was  felt  that  the  serious  problems 
concerning  homes  were  principally  with  respect  to  the  foreigners. 

The  Commission  has  done  three  things:  1.  It  has  developed  a  hous- 
ing program  based  upon  carefully  prepared  plans  with  many  maps  and  pic- 
tures designed  by  an  expert  architect  and  city  planner.  It  has  exhibited 
these  plans,  together  with  material  collected  from  other  cities  and  states  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  in  various  communities  throughout  the  State. 
This  is  a  concrete  way  to  present  bad  housing  conditions  and  to  demonstrate 
the  importance  of  good  housing. 

2.  This  board  has  also  drawn  up  careful  statements  of  what  the  stand- 
ard of  town-planning  and  home-building  for  California  communities  should 
be.  The  Commission  stated  its  willingness  to  send  detailed  plans  to  any 
city  interested  to  improve  conditions  within  its  limits.  It  will  also  furnish, 
without  cost  to  the  community  itself,  an  expert  on  housing  and  town-plan- 
ning who  will  co-operate  with  the  city  in  planning  improvements.  Two  im- 
portant pamphlets  on  these  subjects  designed  to  educate  the  people  to  the 

.  need  for  such  efforts  are  (1)  An  A  B  C  of  Housing,  and  (2)  A  Plan  for 
a  Housing  Survey. 

3.  Labor  camp  inspection  is  another  phase  of  the  Commission's  work. 
This  concerns  principally  the  seasonal  and  migratory  worker  in  camps.  In- 
vestigations of  these  laborers  have  shown  them  to  be  rather  badly  treated 
and  neglected.  They  are  poorly  fed,  badly  housed ;  in  general  there  is  no 
great  care  taken  to  protect  them  from  conditions  that  menace  their  health. 

The  Oklahoma  Home  Ownership  Law. 

In  this  State  a  law  was  passed  in  1915  which  permits  "the  Commission- 
ers of  the  Land  Office  to  invest  money  from  the  sale  of  State  Educational 
Institution  lands  in  loans  not  exceeding  $2,000  to  any  individual  or  family 
to  build  a  home  or  pay  off  a  mortgage  on  one.  Land  to  twice  the  value  of 
the  loan  must  be  owned  by  the  borrower  and  4  per  cent  of  the  face  value  of 
the  loan  must  be  paid  semi-annually.  Out  of  this  6  per  cent  is  taken  on  the 
unpaid  balance,  the  remainder  going  to  reduce  the  principal.  The  debt  is 
extinguished  in  23^  years." 

"The  total  number  of  loans  made  in  the  Home  Ownership  division  at 
the  close  of  business,  February  28,  1918  was  215,  aggregating  $253,800, 
outstanding  $237,431.37,  invested  in  other  securities  (authorized  by  this 
same  law)  $764,000." 


50 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


It  is  too  early  yet  to  predict  whether  this  plan  will  help  people  own  homes 
on  a  large  scale.  It  is  chiefly  of  interest  as  another  example  of  the  point 
of  view  that  the  state  should  undertake  to  provide  aid  of  this  sort. 

Housing  War  Workers  by  the  Federal  Government. 

While  this  plan  was  occasioned  by  a  tremendous  war  emergency,  namely, 
to  find  living  quarters  for  thousands  of  war  workers  in  the  great  ship  yards, 
ordnance  plants  and  government  war  offices,  still  it  is  another  example  of 
the  possibilities  of  government  aid  in  providing  houses  for  the  wage  earner. 
When  the  armistice  was  signed  (November  1918)  89  of  these  housing  pro- 
jects were  under  way.  In  March  1919  the  Housing  Corporation  was 
authorized  by  Congress  to  complete  25  of  them.  They  include  5624  single 
family  dwellings  besides  dormitories  and  apartments.  Miss  Edith  Wood,  a 
specialist  of  the  problem,  says  by  way  of  summary  concerning  this  govern- 
ment housing,  **It  is  altogether  too  soon  to  appraise  the  effect  of  the  gov- 
ernment war  housing  projects  either  on  American  housing  standards,  or  on 
our  housing  policies.    It  can  hardly  fail  to  be  large.    It  may  prove  decisive." 

Some  Industrial  Employers  Build  Houses  for  Their  Employees. 
In  Some  Cases  the  Houses  so  Built  Have  Been  Very  Bad. 

Another  important  method  for  providing  housing,  largely  for  the  work- 
ing people,  is  the  building  and  renting  of  houses  by  employers.  Why  is  the 
employer  willing  to  undertake  this  task?  He  feels  that  it  is  necessary  in 
order  to  maintain  his  labor  force.  In  industries  like  coal-mining  and  steel- 
making  employees  often  cannot  find  places  to  live.  Sometimes  the  manag- 
ers of  industrial  concerns  feel  that  such  efforts  pay  because  the  men  are  more 
contented  and  are  more  loyal  to  the  company. 

Some  of  the  earlier  attempts  of  the  employers  to  provide  these  houses 
were  very  bad.  Dreary  rows  of  boarding  and  lodging  houses  without  sani- 
tary facilities  and  without  the  barest  conveniences  were  in  most  cases  found 
to  be  typical.  Fortunately,  these  conditions  are  changing.  Companies  are 
looking  in  a  more  sympathetic  way  toward  increasing  the  prosperity  and 
welfare  of  their  employees.    Here  is  an  illustration : 

"One  superintendent  in  a  very  isolated  mining  town  in  Pennsyl- 
vania remarked  'that  the  time  is  gone  when  it  is  possible  to  pack 
foreigners  in  boxes  for  houses;  we  supply  them  with  clean  home- 
like quarters,  for  neatness  tends  to  cheerfulness  and  contentment 
of  employees.'  " 

Some  idea  of  the  scope  of  this  method  of  housing  may  be  gained  from 
Table  I. 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


51 


Table  I. 


Showing  the  number  of  companies  and  number  of  employees 
housed  in  various  types  of  industries. 


a 

M-l 
O  (« 

v 

°  S 

O  cn 

o  S 

Industry 

J3  TO 

i.1 

^  o 

i| 

|2 

-Q  O  OJ 

Z  g 

Ig 

Z  OJ 

=  S 

Z  OJ 

zl^ 

Bituminous  coal  mining 

64 

163 

102,843 

62,748 

61.0 

Anthracite   coal  mining 

24 

104 

90,608 

20,660 

22.8 

Iron  mining 

13 

36 

6,930 

2,252 

32.5 

Iron  and  steel  and  allied 

Industries 

28 

33 

120,084 

21,555 

17.9 

Manufacture  of  explo- 

sives 

2 

5 

28,777 

10,840 

37.7 

Textile  manufacture 

54 

54 

46,367 

27,336 

59.1 

Miscellaneous  industries 

17 

17 

56,020 

11,107 

19.8 

A  report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  says  of  industrial  housing 
that  vi^hile  there  are  creditable  instances  of  employers  providing  decent 
houses  for  their  employees,  experience  has  convinced  the  various  groups — 
employer,  employee,  and  the  general  public — that  it  is  not  wise  for  the  em- 
ployers to  be  also  the  landlords  of  the  community.  The  best  example  of  this 
is  the  city  of  Pullman,  Illinois.  Mr.  Pullman,  of  the  Pullman  Car  Com- 
pany, built  a  whole  town  where  his  factory  was  located  some  twenty  miles 
south  of  Chicago.  He  built  the  streets,  laid  out  the  sewers,  provided  the 
water  mains,  and  lights,  erected  the  schools,  churches  and  even  a  library,  be- 
sides the  homes  for  his  workmen.  Three  to  five  room  flats,  clean,  sanitary 
and  well  ventilated,  rented  from  $8  to  $90  a  month.  Single  family  houses 
rented  for  from  $15  to  $20  a  month.  But  the  plan  did  not  work  well.  Pull- 
man workmen  said  it  was  paternalism.  They  objected  to  eating,  sleeping, 
working,  and  going  to  school  and  to  church  with  the  company.  They  also 
claimed  that  their  individual  liberty  was  restricted.  For  example,  they  felt 
that  it  prevented  any  effort  toward  trade  unionism  and  collective  bargaining. 

In  Massachusetts  122  of  the  1217  manufacturers  investigated  reported 
that  they  furnished  either  board  or  houses  for  their  employees.  Thirteen 
said  that  they  had  to  do  it  as  there  were  no  other  houses  available.  Only  five 
of  the  122  made  such  a  condition  of  employment. 

Is  Your  Community  Like  This?   If  so.  What  Should 
Be  Done  About  it? 
Here  are  summaries  of  housing  surveys  in  three  different  industries.^ 

1  These  surveys  were  made  by  agents  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor. 


O.OFrU.  UB. 


U.  OF  ILL  LIB. 


52 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Example  I. 

Housing  by  employers  in  the  bituminous  coal  region  of 
Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia. 

The  survey  in  this  region  showed : 

1.  32  companies  with  114  establishments. 

2.  61%  of  their  employees  housed  by  the  companies. 

3.  Conditions  of  living: 

a.  Uniform,  dreary  houses. 

b.  Dirt  streets,  no  sidewalks. 

c.  Piped  water  to  homes  and  sanitary  facilities  infrequent. 

d.  Room  around  houses  for  gardens. 

e.  Trees,  lawns,  and  beautifying  elements  are  lacking. 

4.  Types  of  houses  : 

a.  Of  ll;7ll  houses  63.1%  w^ere  double  or  semi-detached 

types  of  houses;  33.2%  were  single  houses;  3.7%  were 
multiple  row  houses. 

b.  Houses  in  these  communities  were  not  built  warm  enough. 

c.  No  wall  paper  as  a  rule. 

5.  Rent: 

$1.00  to  $2.50  per  month  per  room. 

6.  Improvements: 

On  10,119  houses  reported 

2.4%  of  the  houses  have  bathrooms 
2.9%  of  the  houses  have  running  water 
47.9%  have  gas  and  electric  light. 

7.  Return  on  income  on  the  property: 

About  3%  on  the  investment. 

Are  conditions  like  these  in  your  community?   What  can  you  do  about  it? 

Example  H. 

Housing  by  Employers  in  Southern 
Cotton  Mill  Villages 

A  Survey  here  showed : 

1.  48  southern  cotton  mills  investigated. 

2.  71%  of  the  employees  were  housed  by  the  companies  (25,289  out 

of  a  total  of  35,643). 

3.  Type  of  town: 

a.  Rows  of  small  houses  of  the  same  design  and  size. 

b.  Streets  unimproved,  no  trees,  muddy  much  of  the  time. 

c.  Houses  clustered  around  the  mills. 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


53 


4.  Type  of  houses: 

a.  Almost  all  frame  houses. 

b.  Four  rooms  as  a  rule  (43.2%)  ;  Three  rooms  (20%). 

5.  Rents:    (returns  on  10,609  houses) 

a.  Monthh^  rental  of  25%  is  less  than  $3.00 

b.  "    '      "         28%  is  $3.  to  $4.00 

c.  "  "      "  27%  is  $4.00  to  $5.00 

d.  "  "       "  80%  is  less  than  $5.00 

6.  Improvements  (returns  on  10,197) 

a.  62%  used  hydrants  as  water  supply 
20%  used  wells  as  water  supply 

24%  had  water  in  home  as  water  supply 
6%  had  more  than  one  of  these  sources  of  supply 

b.  4%  reported  bathtubs 

c.  41.3%  had  gas  and  electric  light.  . 

7.  Maintenance: 

a.  Homes  kept  in  repair  according  to  reports. 

b.  Garbage  collected  as  a  rule  according  to  reports. 

c.  Gardens  common. 

8.  Return  or  income  from  the  property: 

a.  About  4.4%  on  the  investment,  the  companies  assert. 

Example  III. 

Housing  by  Employers  in  the  Iron  and  Steel 
Towns  of  the  North. 

The  Survey  in  this  region  revealed : 

1.  9  communities  surveyed. 

2.  5,528  employees  out  of  45,075  are  housed  by  the  companies. 

3.  1,882  dwellings  included  in  the  investigation. 

4.  Type  of  town: 

In  these  industries  the  survey  found  all  kinds  of  towns  from 
high  class  communities  laid  out  according  to  town-planning 
principles  to  undeveloped  neglected  communities. 

5.  Tj^pe  of  houses: 

a.  4-6  room  buildings. 

b.  Semi-detached  buildings  in  many  cases. 

6.  Rents: 

They  ranged  from  16.4%,  at  a  rent  of  $6  or  $7  a  month  or 
under,  to  14.3%  at  a  rent  of  $18.00  a  month  and  over.  (Note: 
the  fact  that  there  are  more  skilled  workers  in  these  industries 
explains  the  ability  of  a  considerable  group  to  pay  $18.00  a 
month  and  over  for  rent.) 


54 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIVE  IN  AMIiRICA 


7.  Modern  improvements:     (5,722  houses  surveyed) 

a.  50.4%  have  electricity. 

b.  74.3%     "    running  water  inside  the  house. 

c.  39.5  %i     "    bath-tub,  gas,  electricity. 

d.  But  24. 6/^^  report  that  there  are  no  modern  conveniences. 

8.  Maintenance : 

a.  Only  two  of  the  twenty-five  companies  reported  concern- 
ing maintenance.  Their  reports  mentioned  (a)  repairs; 
(b)  street  cleaning;  and  (c)  garbage  collection  as  mat- 
ters they  gave  attention  to. 

9.  Return  or  income  from  the  property: 

a.  Here  the  return  was  simply  the  gross  income  which  was 
8.3%.  This  does  not  allow  for  repair,  taxes,  insurance, 
etc.  Probably  the  net  return  deducting  these  items  would 
be  about  4  to  5%. 


What  general  conclusion  can  you  make  concerning  industrial  housing  by 
employers  on  each  of  the  following  items: 

a.  Per  cent  of  wage  earners  housed  by  employers. 

b.  Type  of  towns  where  industrial  housing  is  prevalent. 

c.  Types  of  company  houses. 

d.  Average  rent  per  month. 

e.  Modern  conveniences  (water,  bath,  lights,  etc.) 

f.  Net  return  or  profit  from  rentals. 

To  Solve  the  Problem  of  City  Housing — 
Some    People    Have  Proposed 

The  Garden  City 

As  factories  accumulate  and  cities  grow  larger  workers  must  either  live 
in  tenements  near  their  work  or  travel  a  very  long  distance  on  trains  or  buses. 
Railroad  fares  get  larger  in  amount  as  the  time  and  distance  of  travel  be- 
tween the  w^orker's  home  and  his  work  become  greater.  In  our  larger  cities 
right  now  workers  spend  from  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  half  going  to  work 
and  as  much  more  time  returning  from  it  each  day!  So  you  see  it  is  almost 
impossible  for  a  worker  to  live  in  suburban  districts  and  work  in  the  heart 
of  a  great  city.  On  the  other  hand,  the  awakening  conscience  of  our  people 
will  not  tolerate  the  congestion  and  poor  housing  that  has  been  so  common 
in  cities  in  the  past.    What  shall  be  done  about  it? 

Many  proposals  are  being  made.    Most  of  them  agree  that 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


55 


Manutacturing  must  be  taken 
Out  of  the  Largest  cities. 

Worker  and  factory  must  be  fairly  close  together,  but  the  worker  ?nust 
have  land.  Thinking  people  want  to  unite  the  attractions  of  the  country  and 
the  city.  One  of  the  most  constructive  experiments  that  has  been  tried  out 
is  that  of  THE  GARDEN  CITY.  About  thirty  years  ago,  Mr.  Ebenezer  Howard 
an  Englishman,  wrote  a  book  called  Garden  Cities  of  Tomorrow  in  which 
-he  outlined  a  plan  for  building  up  smaller  communities  around  industries 
where  land  was  cheap  so  that  each  worker  could  have  a  little  land  of  his 
own.  The  scheme  not  only  aimed  at  better  housing  but  also  at  providing 
all  the  advantages  of  the  attractive  small  community — ^schools,  stores, 
churches,  libraries,  recreational  facilities  and  amusements.  He  was  inter- 
ested in  the  problem  of  how  to  give  community  life,  both  urban  and  rural, 
the  physical  situation  and  the  intimate  neighborhood  relationship  which  is 
found  in  so  many  suburban  communities  today.  A  "garden  city  association" 
was  organized.  As  a  result  of  its  ef¥orts  one  model  garden  city  was  built — at 
Letchworth,  England. 

The  principles  on  which  this  garden  city  was  laid  out  are  interesting. 
They  involved : 

1.  Fewer  houses  to  the  acre — a  maximum  of  twelve. 

2.  Provision  for  gardens  where  people  might  produce  vegetables, 
fruits,  etc. 

3.  Lawns  where  old  and  young  might  enjoy  fresh  air  and  sunshine. 

4.  A  community  life  sufficiently  varied  and  interesting  to  satisfy  the 
normal  craving  for  society. 

In  developing  the  estate  these  principles  were  carried  out : 

1.  The  number  of  houses  per  acre  are  limited;  not  more  than  12, 
except  in  the  case  of  shops.  The  factory  area  is  separate  from 
residential  areas  and  is  so  placed  and  designed  as  to  provide  every 
convenience  for  transport  and  handling  of  goods. 

2.  The  town  is  surrounded  by  a  belt  of  agricultural  land  to  be  per- 
manently kept  free  from  town  development. 

3.  The  community  retains  for  itself  the  increase  in  land  values  after 
the  return  of  5  per  cent  to  the  shareholders  and  all  proper  reserves 
have  been  provided  for. 

"As  the  company  had  to  create  a  city  where  none  was  before,  the  ex- 
penses of  development  have  naturally  been  heavy.  It  had  to  make  roads, 
provide  water-works  and  mains,  gas-works,  electric  power  and  light;  it 
also  had  to  build  offices  and  other  buildings.  Buildings  of  a  capital  value 
of  $300,000  have  been  erected,  or  are  in  course  of  erection.    Among  these 


56 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


are  forty-nine  factories  and  workshops,  two  public  halls,  fifty-two  shops, 
various  churches  and  clubs.  At  the  end  of  1911  there  were  1,679  buildings 
on  the  estate.  The  population  is  about  8,000.  In  1911  the  Garden  City 
for  the  first  time  made  a  small  profit,  and  its  success  as  a  business  project 
seems  now  to  be  assured. 

"The  health  of  the  community  is  extremely  good.  The  death  rate  is 
something  like  half  of  the  average  for  England,  and  less  than  one-fourth 
that  of  the  old  manufacturing  cities.  Infantile  mortality  is  correspondingly 
low. 

"Although  I  was  not  greatly  impressed  by  the  cheapest  kind  of  work- 
men's cottages  ajt  Letchworth — they  looked  rather  flimsy  and  cramped — yet 
on  the  w^hole  the  standard  of  housing  was  very  high,  and  the  rentals  very 
moderate.  The  general  environment,  moreover,  is  infinitely  more  cheerful 
than  that  which  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  working  classes.  But  the 
population  of  Letchworth  is  just  as  varied  as  that  of  any  other  town.  It 
has  its  factory  and  factory  workers,  its  shops,  its  business  and  professional 
men,  and  a  number  of  people  of  means  who  prefer  the  semi-rural  life  to  life 
in  packed  cities.  Many  of  the  houses  and  grounds  are  very  beautiful.  It 
was  in  winter  when  I  saw  them.  In  spring  and  summer  Letchworth  must 
be  truly  a  garden  city. 

"The  first  garden  city  has  in  one  decade  exercised  a  world-wide  influ- 
ence, and  the  housing  principles  which  it  followed  have  been  adopted  in  al- 
most every  civilized  country." 

As  an  example  of  constructive  housing  efforts  the  garden  city  plan  is  im- 
portant. It  has  been  influential  in  bettering  housing  conditions.  Employers 
of  labor  in  England  have  built  Port  Sunlight  near  Liverpool,  Bourneville 
near  Birmingham,  and  other  similar  communities  modeled  after  Letchworth. 
Co-partnership  and  private  real  estate  companies  have  also  been  stifnulated 
to  develop  communities  along  the  lines  laid  down  by  Mr.  Howard  and  his 
garden  city  associates. 

Some  evidence  on  the  results  of  these 
constructive  housing  efforts. 

1.  Death  rate  in  London  County  Council  buildings  1911-12  was    8.5  per  1000 

2.  "  "  "  entire  city  of  London  1911-12    "  15.0  per  1000 

3.  "  "  "  Port  Sunlight    1900-1907  "  9.8  per  1000 

4.  "  "  "  Bourneville    1901-1905  "  7.3  per  1000 

5.  "  "  "  England  and  Wales  "  15.7  per  1000 

Nos.  1,  3,  and  4  are  fur  model  housing  plans.  Compare  them  with  Nos. 
2  and  5. 

Most  convincing  is  the  evidence  in  Liverpool.  It  is  claimed  in  general 
that  lower  death  rates  in  these  "model  tenements"  are  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  attract  a  better  class  of  tenants.    But  in  Liverpool  the  poorest  class  of 


THE  HOUSES  PEOPLE  LIVE  IN 


57 


tenants  were  permitted  to  move  into  the  new  homes  built  by  the  city.  Here, 
then,  we  have  identical  groups  of  people.  The  building  is  the  only  new  fac- 
tor. After  the  group  moved  into  the  new  buildings,  the  death  rate  fell 
fifty  per  cent.  The  same  rate  of  improvement  holds  true  concerning  habits 
of  cleanliness  and  good  order.  In  one  area  in  1901  there  were  170  arrests, 
in  1912  there  were  only  52. 

Table  II 

Shows  the  influence  of  better  homes  on  the  heights  and  weights  of  boys 
in  all  Liverpool  and  Port  Sunlight  schools.^ 


Boys — Aged  7 

Boys — Aged  11 

Boys — Aged  14 

Height 
inches 

Weight 
pounds 

Height 
inches 

Weight 
pounds 

Height 
inches 

Weight 
pounds 

Liverpool  Schools 
Port  Sunlight 
Schools 

44.3 
47.0 

43.0 
50.5 

51.8 
57.0 

59.0 
79.5 

56.2 
62.2 

75.8 
108.0 

Difference 

2.7 

7.5 

6.2 

20.5 

6.0 

32.2 

Other  figures  show  the  same  general  effect  of  dark  rooms,  no  ventila- 
tion, insanitation,  overcrowding,  filth  and  delapidation  in  homes. 

Now  Organize  a  Survey  of  Housing  in  Your  Own  Community 
Of  all  the  aspects  of  a  community's  life  no  one  is  more  important  than 
its  housing  and  its  provisions  for  recreation.  Now  that  you  have  studied  the 
situation  as  it  is  in  other  places  organize  a  survey  of  the  problem  for  your 
own  community.  Very  likely  you  will  wish  to  have  the  whole  class  work  on 
the  survey,  perhaps  dividing  the  group  up  into  committees. 

CLASS  EXERCISE 

1.  Prepare  a  blackboard  list  of  things  that  the  citizens  of  a  community 
should  include  in  planning  civic  improvement. 

2.  Make  a  list  of  rules  that  a  city  should  insist  upon  in  housing. 

3.  What  can  a  city  do  to  provide  for  the  recreation  of  its  citizens? 

4.  What  can  be  done  to  make  cities  more   attractive?     Find  other 
examples  besides  those  mentioned  in  this  section. 

Suggested  Questions  and  Topics 

A.  Housing: 

1.  Take  two  districts  about  two  or  three  blocks  square,  one  in  an  attrac- 
tive residential  part  of  town,  the  other  in  the  factory  district.  Compare 
them  for 

(a)  Appearance  of  the  houses.    (Are  they  in  good  repair,  attractive, 
clean  ? ) 


1  Woods,  Edith:  "Housing  the  Unskilled  Worker,"  page  160. 


58 


•JOWN  AND  CITY  LIFIt  IN  AMHRICA 


(b)  TyP^'       houses.     (One-family,  two-family,  tenement?) 

(c)  The  number  of  people  per  block.    ( I^stimate  this  as  closely  as  pos- 

sible.) 

(d)  Provision  for  ventilation.     (Are  there  dark  rooms?    How  much 

space  is  there  between  houses?) 

(e)  Are  there  playgrounds  or  parks  in  the  neighborhood? 

(f)  Are  the  streets  kept  clean  and  in  repair? 

(g)  Are  the  streets  shaded  ? 

(h)  Are  there  evidences  of  an  unclean   neighborhood    (trash,  dump- 

heaps,  swamps,  bad  odors,  bill-boards,  buildings  falling  to 
pieces,  etc.)  ? 

(i)  What  are  the  provisions  of  the  housing  laws  governing  each  district? 
2.    Draw  a  rough  map  of  these  districts,  indicating  by  various  symbols  such 

as  crosses,  circles,  etc.,  attractive  blocks  and  homes,  unclean  or  unattrac- 
tive blocks,  houses  in  poor  shape,  etc.  Indicate  public  buildings,  fac- 
tories, stores,  theatres,  schools,  churches,  parks,  streets,  (whether  paved 
or  not)  railroads,  (electric  and  steam)  ponds,  rivers  and  bridges. 

B.  Parks  and  Playgrounds,  Recreation,  and  Civic  Beautification : 

1.  How  many  parks  and  playgrounds  has  your  city?  Are  they  located  so 
that  citizens  in  all  parts  of  the  city  are  near  some  park  or  playground  ? 

2.  Inspect  them;  estimate  how  many  people  are  using  them,  r 

3.  Does  your  city  employ  playground  supervisors?    What  do  they  do? 

4.  What  band  concerts,  pageants,  civic  holidays,  etc.  does  your  community 
have  ? 

5.  What  other  recreational  facilities  do  people  in  your  city  have  ? 

6.  Take  a  survey  in  your  class  as  to  what  your  classmates  do  for  amuse- 
ments. What  per  cent,  play  baseball?  basket  ball?  tennis?  How 
many  skate?  How  many  belong  to  boy  scouts,  girl  scouts,  other  clubs? 
How  many  go  to  the  movies  ?  How  often  each  week  or  month  ?  How 
many  read  books?  How  many  books  a  week  or  a  month?  Have  them 
list  other  forms  of  amusement. 

7.  Find  out  and  list  in  your  survey  any  examples  of  attempts  to  beautify  the 
district  or  the  city.  These  include:  tree  planting,  "cleaning-up"  cam- 
paigns, planting  shrubs  and  grass  on  parkways,  boulevards,  and  around 
public  buildings,  replacing  ugly  bridges  with  attractive  ones. 

C.  City  Planning: 

1.  Find  out  if  your  city  has  made  plans  for  its  future  growth  and  develop- 
ment. List  the  most  important  plans  it  has  to  make  the  city  more 
attractive. 

2.  See  if  you  can  discover  any  ways  in  which  the  city  could  be  improved  by 
planning.  For  example,  are  there  sections  of  the  city  that  need  better 
transportation,  more  parks,  schools,  better  fire  protection,  etc? 

/ 


60 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  aIvIERICA 


3.  Does  your  city  have  what  is  called  a  "Zoning"  law, — that  is,  does  it 
restrict  factories  to  a  certain  area,  and  homes  to  certain  areas?  Find  out 
how  the  law  works. 

4.  Could  streets  be  re-located  so  that  the  appearance  of  the  city  would  be 
improved  ?    How  ? 

TEST 


1.    Complete  the  following  sentences: 


1. 

2. 

'A 

3. 

The  group  of  workers  in  the  United  States  who  ar{ 

;  suffering  from  poor  housing 

4. 

Poor  houses  affect  those  who  live  in  thenn  in  the  fol 

lowing  ways : 

5. 

Two  ways  of  providing  better  housing  conditions  £ 

  (2)   

re:  (1)   

6. 

The  work  of  the  Town  Planning  Boards  consists  ( 

>f  

7.  In  order  to  secure  better  housing  conditions  Massachusetts  is. 


8.  Workmen  object  to  houses  furnished  by  their  employers  for  the  following  reas- 
ons:   


9.  Sixty-one  percent  of  the  workers  in  the  bituminous  coal  regions  are  housed  by  the 

companies.    These  houses  are  '.  

  (describe  them.) 

10.  The  owners  of  the  cotton  mills  in  the  South  house  71%  of  their  employees.  These 
houses  are   (describe  them). 

11.  Experiments  in  better  housing  conducted  in  England  (for  example  Port  Sunlight 

and  Bourneville,)  have  proved  (1)  that  the   of  the 

community  improves.  (2)  that  the   of  the  com- 
munity   

12.  The  problem  of  housing  concerns  the  unskilled      age-earner  principally  be- 
cause  J  

13.  The  California  Commission  on  Immigration  and  Housing  has  done  the  following 
to  meet  the  need  for  better  housing  

II.    A.    Our  unskilled  wage-earners  are  largely     (Check  the  groups 
which  represent  a  high  percentage  of  such  workers.)  : 

1.  Negroes. 

2.  Native  whites. 

3.  Foreign-born  whites.  '  " 

4.  Native  whites  of  foreign-born  or  mixed  parentage. 

B.  Check  the  group  which  comprises  the  majority  of  the  workers 
in  America : 

1.  Skilled  trades. 

2.  Professional  work. 

3.  Unskilled  trades. 

C.  The  unskilled  wage-earner  is  able  to  buy    |  |  v cross  out 
the  untrue  one)  for  his  wages  today  than  in  1914. 


TEST 


61 


III.  Write  a  T  before  statements  that  are  true  and  an  F  before  those 
that  are  false. 

1.   1 —  The  unskilled  workers  in  the  United  States  earn  enough  to  afford  houses 

/     which  meet  the  proper  standards  for  light,  sanitation,  and  attractiveness. 

2.  — -^^ —  It  is  only  in  our  large  cities  that  bad  housing  conditions  are  found. 

3.   ■ —  The  condition  of  a  city's  housing  affects  the  death  rate  in  that  city. 

4.    Single-family  houses  are  usually  better  homes  than  flats  in  crowded  tene- 
ments. 

5.    Housing  conditions  in  Washington,  D.  C.  are  very  superior  and  should 

serve  as  a  model  for  the  country. 

6.    One-third  of  the  people  in  the  United  States  are  living  in  houses  that 

are  neither  comfortable  nor  healthy. 

7.    Communities  have  always  been  alive  to  the  needs  for  better  housing  of 

their  citizens. 

8.    The  Federal  Government  built  living  quarters  for  War  workers  1917- 

1919. 

9.    Employers  have  always  realized  the  need  for  attraictive,  healthful  homes 

for  their  workers. 


Reading  List 

.  V  , 

BE  SURE  TO  USE  THE  BOOKS  LISTED  IN  SECTION  V 

Bridgeport,   Connecticut  Chamber   of  Commerce:     More  Houses  for  Bridgeport, 

American  City,  87  Nassau  Street,  New  York,  1916. 
Cleveland,  Public  Welfare,  Department  of  Investigation  of  Housing.    Conditions  of 

Cleveland's  Workingmen.    1914.    A  pamphlet. 
Mall,  E.  R. :    Report  on  Housing  Conditions  in  the  Oranges.    Woman's  Club,  Civic 

Committee.    Prospect  and  Welham  Streets,  East  Orange,  New  Jersey, 

1915.    A  pamphlet. 

Headley,  M.  Study  of  Housing  Conditions.  New  York  Department  of  Health,  Al- 
bany, New  York.    A  pamphlet. 

Hill,  O. :  Life  of  Octavia  Hill  as  Told  in  Her  Letters.  The  Macmillan  Company, 
New  York,  1913. 

Ihlder,  J.:  City  Housing — Past  and  Future.    National  Housing  Association,  1915.  A 
Pamphlet. 

Plan  for  the  building  of  Sanitary  Houses  for  Workingmen.  Octavia  Hill  Associ- 
tion,  613  Lombard  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  1916.  Pam- 
phlet. 

Smythe,  W.  E. :  City  Homes  on  Country  Lanes.  The  Macmillan  Company,  New 
York,  1921. 

White,  J.  H.:  Houses  for  Mining  Towns.  United  States  Department  of  Mines.  Supt. 
of  Documents,  1914.    A  pamphlet. 


Write  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  any  one  of  the  following  cities, 
asking  for  material  on  their  housing  problem  and  how  they  are  meeting  it : 

Akron,  Ohio  Detroit,  Mich. 

Hamilton,  Ohio  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Berkeley,  Cal.  Boston,  Mass. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Cleveland,  Ohio  Providence,  R.  I. 


62 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE   IN  AMERICA 


The  following  is  a  suggestive  list  of  magazine  references  on  your  prob- 
lems. Look  through  the  magazines  in  your  school  or  public  library.  You 
will  find  your  best  material  there. 

Janesville  housing  plan.    American  City.    20:481-3,  May  1919. 
North  Dakota  provides  state  aid  for  housing.   American  City,  21:569-71,  Decem- 
ber 1919. 

Connmunity  values  in  government  housing.  American  City,  22:1-7,  January  1920. 

Urgent  need  for  a  federal  bureau  of  housing  and  living  conditions  in  the  De- 
partment of  Labor.   American  City,  22:222-3,  March  1920. 

Portland,  Indiana  plan  of  Solving  the  Housing  Problem.  American  City,  23:65, 
July,  1920. 

America's  housing  need  and  how  to  meet  it.  American  City,  23  :26-30,  July  1920. 
State  and  municipal  aid  for  housing.  American  City,  23 :463,  November  1920. 
Lessons  to  be  learned  from  Bridgeport's  experiment  in  housing.    American  City, 

24:451-5,  May,  1921. 
Revolution  in  housing.    Current  History  Magazine,  Neiv  York  Times  15:903-9, 

March,  1922. 

Belgium's  housing  methods.  Current  History  Magazine,  Neiv  York  Times, 
15:909-10,  March  1922. 

Garden  villages  of  France  and  Belgium.  Current  History  Magazine,  Neiv  York 
Times,  16:962-8,  September  1922. 

Why  and  how  long  America  must  suffer  a  scarcity  of  buildings?  Current  Opin- 
ion 68:839-40,  June,  1920. 

Better  homes  in  America.    Delineator  101:16-17,  October  1922. 

Homes  for  our  people.    Ladies'  Home  Journal  37:39,  February  1920. 

Who  will  build  five  million  homes?    Literary  Digest  66:17-18,    August  28,  1920. 

Government  duty  in  the  housing  crisis.    Literary  Digest  67:20,  October  23,  1920. 

How  to  meet  the  shortage  of  homes.    Literary  Digest  69:7-9,  April  9,  1921. 

Cities  built  by  a  French  railroad.  Literary  Digest  74:23,  August  12,  1922. 

What  housing  shortage  means.    Nation  111:261,  September  4,  1920. 

Case  of  government  housing.    Neuj  Republic  17:335-7,  January  18,  1919. 

Buying  up  slums.    Outlook  127:142-4,  January  26,  1921. 

National  housing  problem.    Remeiv  of  Revieivs  60:  212-13,  August  1919. 

Government  hotels  for  women.   Re'vieiv  of  Remeivs  60:603-8,  December  1919. 

War-time  housing  and  the  government.  Revieiv  of  Remeuus  60:  597-8,  Decem- 
ber 1919. 

Yorkship  Village.    Remew  of  Revieivs  60:  599-602,  December  1919. 

Are  we  solving  the  housing  problem?   Review  of  Reviews  65:  517-25,  May  1922. 

Government  housing  in  Argentina.   Review  of  Reviews  66:177-180,  August  1922. 

Wanted,  Ten  Million  Houses!    Saturday  Evening  Post  192:23,  May  8,  1920. 

Funds  for  Housing.    Saturday  Evening  Post  194:20,  July  30,  1921. 

Government's  model  villages.    Survey  41:585-92,  February  1,  1919. 

Housing  and  home  loans — necessity  of  Continuing  the  Bureau  of  Industrial 

Housing  and  Transportation.    Survey  42:  407-8,  June  7,  1919. 
Getting  the  poorest  into  decent  homes.    Survey  42:  575-6,  July  12,  1919. 
Houses  for  working  women.   Survey  45:  570-1,  January  15,  1921. 
Cities  of  peace.   Survey  48:611,  August  15,  1922. 

New  houses  for  old:  Wellington  Home  Foundation.  Survey  49:  363-70,  De- 
cember 15,  1922. 

Housing  by  employers  in  the  United  States.  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  Bul- 
letin 263,  1920. 


SECTION  VIII 
WHAT  MAKES  A  HEALTHY  COMMUNITY? 


64 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


"Almost  every  boy  wants  to  be  the  strong  man  of  the  circus  or 
the  daredevil  of  the  movies;  almost  every  girl  the  Circassian 
Queen  who  rides  three  horses  bareback  and  leaps  so  nimbly 
through  the  paper-filled  hoops." 

A  Trip  through  Healthland 

What  do  you  think  the  artist  who  drew  the  picture  of  Healthland  was 
trying  to  portray?  Was  that  just  an  interesting  picture  to  arouse  your  cuYi- 
osity  and  make  you  smile?  Smiling  you  probably  are,  as  you  look  at  it. 
Think  of  such  stations  on  a  railway  as  "Hot  Soup  Springs,"  and  "Long 
Sleep  Mountain,"  and  "Drinkwater"  and  "Spinach  Green."  Yet  these 
were  actual  stations  on  an  actual  miniature  railway  in  St.  Paul,  Minn,  in 
the  month  of  October,  1922.  How  could  that  be?  Why,  a  National  Dairy 
Show  was  held  at  that  time  in  a  great  building  at  St.  Paul,  and  one  of  the 
most  astonishing  of  the  exhibits  was  the  Healthland  exhibit  shown  in  the 
picture. 

"People  interested  just  in  health!"  you  exclaim.  Yes,  just  in  health. 
To  interest  thousands,  hundreds  of  thousands — even  millions  of  healthy  boys 
and  girls  as  the  idea  spreads  over  the  country — the  exhibitors  went  to  great 
expense  and  trouble  to  make  the  Healthland  Exhibit.  27,000  persons — 
parents,  teachers,  and  children — crowded  to  the  exhibit  in  one  day.  All 
the  week  there  were  such  crowds  that  from  time  to  time  the  doors  had  to  be 
closed  and  the  hall  cleared  to  make  room  for  clamoring  new  arrivals. 

"Granted  the  why  of  child  health  education,  the  St.  Paul  Healthland  set 
a  new  highwater  mark  for  the  how.  Conceived  by  the  famous  health  clown 
'Happy,'  Clifford  Goldsmith  of  the  Child  Health  Organization,  executed 
by  Martin  Jenter  of  Mount  Vernon,  New  York,  and  made  possible  by  the 
generosity  of  the  National  Dairy  Council,  Healthland  became  a  real  village, 
covering  acres,  in  the  great  building  which  had  aroused  St.  Paul's  county 
fairs. 

"  'The  Smiles  Come  Out  of  the  IMilk  Bottle,'  "  declared  the  legend  on 
the  side  of  one  of  the  swaying  lanterns  that  twinkled  everywhere  among 
real  trees.  But  so  did  something  else.  For  the  milk  bottle  was  a  great 
turret  with  a  winding  staircase  inside,  and  from  its  top  a  steady  line  of 
laughing  children  tumbled  unceasingly  down  a  playground  slide.  From 
the  radio  loud-speaker  came  such  gems  as  Tor  a  good  complexion  apply 
one  apple  to  the  face  daily  and  rub  in  until  it  disappears'  or  'Try  our  cow's 
vanishing  cream.'  When  you  visited  the  radio  station  itself,  you  found  the 
set  made  of  carrots  and  beets  and  string  beans,  for  it  was  through  them  that 
the  power  came. 

"Through  the  midst  of  Healthland,  past  Prune  Bridge  and  the  Vege- 
table House  with  its  picket  fence  of  string  beans,  ran  the  Healthland  Rail- 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 


65 


way,  its  ticket  offices  as  besieged  by  travellers  as  the  Grand  Central  on  the 
Fourth  of  July.    And  the  ticket?    A  regular,  printed  ticket  form,  but  it 

said:  'My  Name  is  '    'I  weigh  '    'But  I  Should  Weigh 

 \    University  students,  and  members  of  the  practice  work  in  home 

economics  courses,  and  members  of  the  women's  clubs  cooperated  with  the 
members  of  the  Child  Health  Organization,  who  ran  the  railway,  in  weigh- 
ing the  children  and  filling  in  the  tickets  which  enabled  them  to  ride.  Each 
child  had  to  give  his  'number' — what  he  should  weigh  for  his  age  and  height 
— when  he  entered  the  train."^ 

Do  Children  Who  Have  been  Trained  in  Health 
Habits  Become  Healthier? 

Why  so  much  uproar  about  health?  Does  it  do  any  good  to  talk  so 
much  about  it?  To  have  great  exhibits  about  it?  Can  it  be  shown  that 
teaching  children  the  value  of  health  habits  really  results  in  better  health? 
Does  it  pay  to  take  better  care  of  the  water  supply  of  a  city  to  protect  the 
food,  to  "swat-the-fly,"  and  so  on?  It  certainly  does.  Here  is  some  evi- 
dence : 

"New  proof  of  the  returns  on  even  a  small  investment  in  health  edu- 
cation have  been  brought  forward  recently  by  C.  E.  Turner,  Professor  of 
Biology  and  Public  Health  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology, 
writing  in  The  Nation's  Health  on  his  experiments  at  Somerville  and  Mai- 
den, Massachusetts.  In  certain  classes  definite  health  instruction  was  given, 
in  no  case  for  more  than  one  hour  a  week,  supplemented  to  a  certain  extent 
by  a  health  emphasis  in  other  school  work,  while  in  similar  groups  no  health 
instruction  was  given.  At  Somerville  only  one  child  of  thirty-nine,  who 
received  the  instruction,  failed  to  make  a  normal  growth ;  in  two  control 
groups  of  the  same  size  [in  which  instruction  was  given],  nine  and  sixteen, 
respectively,  did  not  achieve  it.  At  Maiden  nearly  50  per  cent  of  a  group 
of  247  children,  underweight  for  their  age,  were  distinctly  nearer  the  normal 
after  four  months  of  teaching.  In  a  similar  group  of  141  who  received  no 
training,  only  26  per  cent  came  nearer  to  standard  during  the  same  period. 
The  work  was  non-medical  and  non-technical,  accomplished  by  talks  on 
health  habits,  and  the  keeping  of  habit  and  growth  records  and  of  health 
scrap-books."^ 

Examples  of  Improvement  in  the  Health 
of  Human  Beings 

Every  year  in  America  40,000  of  our  people  have  typhoid  fever,  and 
more  than  5,000  of  them  die  from  it.  Why?  Largely  because  the  water 
supply  or  the  milk  supply  is  polluted.    Until  thirty  or  forty  years  ago  most 


1  The  Survey,  November  15,  1922. 


66 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


1913 


J 


communities  paid  little  attention  to  protection  of  milk  and  water.  For  ex- 
ample, it  was  common  for  a  community  to  empty  its  sewage  into  a  river 
from  which  another  community  took  its  water  supply  for  drinking  purposes. 
What  happened?  The  water  supply  of  the  second  town  frequently  be- 
came contaminated  with  typhoid  germs  and  bad  epidemics  of  the  disease 
set  in.  Engineers  who  were  studying  the  problem  saw  that  the  sewage 
must  be  disposed  of  in  some  other  way. 

The  improvement  that  soon  came  about  in  Chicago  when  this  was  done 
is  shown  in  Fig.  12. 

1895  In  Chicago  in  1895,  82  persons  to  every  100,000 

died  from  typhoid  fever,  caused  largely  from  emptying 
sewage  into  Lake  Michigan  and  drawing  the  water  sup- 
ply from  the  same  source. 

In  1913  the  number  of  persons  who  died  from  the 
fever  were  only  10  per  100,000.    Between  those  dates 
all  sewage  had  been  taken  by  a  drainage  canal  away 
from  the  Lake.    Of  course  other  preventive  measures 
.  have  been  taken  as  well,  and  Chicago's  health  is  improv- 

FiG.  \r 

To  make  the  story  still  more  emphatic, — in  1891  Chicago's  death  rate 
from  typhoid  was  174,  in  1920  it  was  1.1!  In  a  similar  way  Milwaukee's 
water  supply,  which  was  taken  from  Lake  Michigan,  was  polluted  by  per- 
mitting manufacturers  to  empty  chemical  waste  into  the  Lake. 

Excellent  examples  are  at  hand  of  the  way  the  health  of  human  beings 
is  being  better  safeguarded  in  these  days  than  it  was  in  earlier  times.  See 
how  clearly  the  fact  is  brought  out  in  the  annual  death  rate  from  disease  of 
American  armies  in  the  different  wars  our  country  has  fought. 

Out  of  1,000  Men 

Mexican  War  110 
Civil          "       (North)  65 

Spanish  "  26 
World        "  17 

Another  way  to  see  the  improvement  that  has  come  about  slowly  but 
surely  is  to  compare  the  average  length  of  life  in  the  different  centuries, 
say  from  1500  to  the  present  time.  In  a  certain  European  City  which  has 
preserved  its  records  all  that  time  the  average  length  of  life  was  as  follows : 

In  the  I500's  21  years 

"    "  1600's  26  " 

"    "  I700's  34  " 

"    "  1800's  40 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 


67 


Steadily  as  time  has  gone  on  people  have  learned  how  to  protect  life 
better  and  better.  Population  has  been  on  a  constant  increase  and  the  aver- 
age length  of  life  has  also  increased. 

GETTING   INDIVIDUALS  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  TO  IMPROVE 
THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 

FIRST :  WHAT  THE  INDIVIDUAL  SHOULD  DO  TO  IMPROVE 
THE  community's  HEALTH 

If  you  are  interested  in  athletics  you  probably  score  yourself  often. 
Score  yourself  on  this  Health  Score  Card. 

People  who  have  studied  this  matter  of  health  a  long  time  have  come  to 
certain  conclusions  as  to  what  is  good  for  us  and  what  is  not.  Of  course 
they  may  not  have  learned  the  very  best  things  to  do  in  all  respects ;  people 
are  learning  more  every  decade,  and  before  you  are  an  old  man  or  woman 
much  more  will  be  known  about  health  and  how  to  get  it  than  is  known  now. 

But  in  the  score  card  on  the  next  page,  the  things  that  people  now 
think  we  ought  to  do  to  keep  well  have  been  brought  together.  A  certain  num- 
ber of  points  is  given  for  each  item.  If  you  sleep  in  the  open  air  or  with  all 
bedroom  windows  wide  open  give  yourself  10  points.  If  you  leave  the 
windows  open  only  half  way  give  yourself  less,  say  5  points;  if  you  sleep 
on  a  mattress  with  no  feathers,  1  point ;  with  a  small  pillow,  1  point ;  if  you 
clean  your  teeth  at  least  in  the  morning  and  at  night  5  points.  Go  clear 
through  the  list  in  this  fashion. 

If  you  do  every  one  of  the  things  listed,  you  earn  100  points!  What  would 
that  mean?  It  would  mean  that  you  were  now  doing  everything  day  and 
night  that  specialists  think  you  should  to  keep  yourself  well. 


fBm  f533  Kja  rm^  mA  R^a  d^js  ca3  eh  \tim 
KEi  Bia  caa  csa  csa  szca  inro  rar?i      coa  ca^  ni^a 


Fig.  131 

Do  you  think  that  sleeping  with  windows  open  is  a  good  thing  for 
people  ?   Why  ? 


lUsed  by  Andress,  J.  M.,  in  "Health  Education  in  Rural  Schools." 


68 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Are  You  a  100  Per  Cent  American  in  Health?^ 
How  Much  Can  You  Score? 


SCORE  CARD  TO  MEASURE  YOUR  HEALTHi 

Sleeping  in  the  open  or  with  all  bedroom  windows  open  (screened  in 

warm  weather)    10 

Mattress  (no  feathers)    1 

Small  pillow    1 

Bed  clothing  aired    1 

Rise  regularly  at  seven  or  earlier   2 

Light  exercise  on  rising  (five  minutes)    2 

Cold  bath,  unless  ill   3 

Hair  brushed  25  times  or  more    2 

Teeth  cleaned  at  least  morning  and  night  .  5 

Individual  towel    2 

Glass  of  water  on  rising   1 

Hygienic  Breakfast: 

Thorough  chewing    2 

At  least  one  item  from  each  of  three  classes  of  food.    Class  1: 

fruit.    Class  2:  bread,  cereal,  baked  potatoes.    Class  3:  eggs,;  : 

bacon,  milk,  fish,  cheese    3 

No  candy  or  other  food  bet^veen  meals  :   4 

No  active  exercise  for  20  minutes  after  hearty  meal   3 

Carry  books  at  arms'  length  and  change  hands  often  \.   1 

Get  best  possible  light  at  school  'J^-l.   2  ^ 

Use  fully  20  minutes  for  lunch.    (Not  5  minutes  eat  and  40  run.)___   3 

Hygienic  Lunch:  <■ 

Thorough  chewing  .   2 

At  least  one  item  from  two  classes.    Class  1:  bread  and  butter, 

crackers.    Class  2:  milk,  soup,  cold  meat  :   3 

Two  glasses  of  water  in  afternoon   2^;^ 

Vigorous  exercise  (tennis,  baseball,  running,  etc.)  30  minutes  .__ —  5 

Rest  20  minutes  before  dinner  . —  1 

Hygienic  Dinner: 

Attractive  table,  1;  chew  well,  2;  eat  moderately,  2;  at  least  one 
item  from  three  classes,  5;  Class  1,  potatoes,  bread,  macaroni, 
rice;   Class  2,  soup,  stew,  roast,  baked  beans,  cheese;  Class  3, 

fruit,  vegetables    lO 

Study  two  hours  (read  if  lessons  are  easy)    2 

Light  behind,  above,  and  sufficient   2 

Light  exercise  before  retiring    2 

Retire  regularly  before  ten  P.  M.    10 

Glass  of  water  before  retiring   2 

Clean  hands,  face,  and  mouth  before  retiring   2 

Hygienic  clothing    2 

Correct  posture    3 

Hands  and  finger  nails  kept  clean   3 

All  meals  at  regular  times  (not  to  vary  more  than  an  hour)   2 

100 

Use  of  coffee  or  tea,  deduct  2  per  cent. 
Use  of  alcohol  or  tobacco,  deduct  20  per  cent. 


On  your  score  card  10  points  were  given  for  sleeping  with  windows 
open.  Perhaps  this  seemed  a  good  many  to  give  to  this.  If  so,  study  Fig. 
13. 


1  From  "American  City,"  Vol.  18,  page  222 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 


69 


second:    What  Should  the  Community  do  to  Improve 
THE  Community's  Health? 
Examples  of  Health  Standards  and  Conditions  a  City 
Ought  to  Work  For.    How  Shall  They  be  Gained  ? 
First:    An  Attractive  Well  Kept  Community 


Good  pavements,  sidewalks,  shaded  streets,  gardens  on  vacant  lots, 

and  playground  and  parks  should  be  provided. 
  Fig.  141 


iFrom  Hutchinson,  W. :  Op.  cit.,  Frontispiece. 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Second:    Clean,  Neat  Homes 


Clean,  attractive  frame  houses  can  be  provided  even  for  the  poorer 
classes  of  citizens. 
Fig.  151 

Third:    Opportunity  to  Play 


Parks  and  open  spaces  for  pleasure,  rest,  and  play  are  absolutely 
necessary  to  maintain  good  health. 
  Fig.  162 

1  From  Kenngott,  G.  F. :  Op.  cit.,  pag-e  62. 
2 From  Hutchinson,  W. :  Op.  cit.,  page  25. 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 

How  Health  Departments  Are  Trying  to  Educate 
THE  Communities 

What  do  these  posters  do? 
Are  they  Effective? 


WARNING 

Pneumonia,  consumption  and  other 

diseases  are  conveyed  in  spit. 
Please  do  not  spit  on  the  sidewalk 

or  in  other  public  places. 
It  is  against  the  law  to  do  so. 
For  each  offense  the  penalty  is  a 

fine  of  one  to  five  dollars  and 

costs. 

Join  the  anti-spitting  crusade. 
John  Dill  Robertson, 
Commissioner  of  Health. 


An  Anti-Spitting  Crusade  in  Chicago. 


HEALTH 
DEP'T 


"LIFE  LINES" 


Become  a  fresh-air  crank, 
even  at  the  risk  of  being 
disliked.  Better  a  live  fresh- 
air  crank  than  an  almo^ 
lifeless  hot-house  invalid 
DEPARTMENT  OF  HEALTH,  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 

Fig.  171 


1  "American  City,"  Vol.  18,  page  236. 


72 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


^LtaNTUWobH£flLTH-m  i\fV 


Fig.  181 


How  THE  City  of  Philadelphia  Advertised  its 
Clean-up  Week 


MAiCE.OUR   a-TT  BRIGHTEPif 
APR!  L  20th  TO  25th  GLEANING  UP JXYS 

WAGONS  WILL  CARRY  AWAY  ALL  RUBBISH 
ON   f?EGULAR  ASH  COLLECTION  DAYS - 

4  (general  Cjean-up  5P/CfS  Everyb<%Hgip' 


Fig.  192 

1  "American  City,"  Vol.  18,  page  236. 

2  Cooke,  M.  L. :  "Our  Cities  Awake,"  page  212. 
City,  N.  Y.,  1918. 


Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  Garden 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 


Some  Results  of  Philadelphia's  Campaign 


Fig.  201 


how  PHILADELPHIA  GUARDED  THE  HEALTH  OF  ITS  CITIZENS 


BUREAU  OF  WATER 


Notice  to  Householders 


BOIL  YOVR  WATER 

Boil  all  water  for  drinking:  purposes  at  least  five 
minutes,  until  further  notice.    An  accident  compels 
the  Bureau  to  supply  this  neighborhood  with  raw, 
unfiltered  water. 


Typhoid  fever  is  caused  by  taking  typhoid  germs  into  the 
body  with  food  or  drink.  These  germs  are  most  generally 
carried  by  means  of  water,  and  this  warning  is  given  you 
that  you  may  protect  yourself  and  family  by  boiling  all 
city  water  used  for  drinking  and  cooking  until  further  notice. 


1  Cooke,  M.  L.:  Op.  cit.,  page  212. 


74 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


What  a  Newspaper  wrote  about  the  Services 
of  One  Health  Commissioner 


By  example  and  precept  he  has  made 
people  take  an  interest  in  hygiene  and 
look  after  their  health,  and  that  was  half 
the  battle.  His  bulletins  in  the  shadow 
of  epidemics,  like  the  influenza,  were 
read  by  everybody.  How  to  avoid  in- 
fection and  what  to  do  before  the  doctor 
came,  he  dinned  into  the  consciousness  of 
the  most  careless.  No  precaution  was  too 
simple  to  be  neglected  in  the  Copeland 
propaganda.  He  talked,  lectured,  was  in- 
terviewed, and  after  a  while  the  whole 
country  knew  who  was  Health  Commis- 
sioner in  New  York. 

He  has  told  mothers  how  to  bring  up 
their  children,  and  preached  dieting  to 
their  husbands;   he  has  attacked  over- 


crowding in  the  slums  and  proposed  so- 
lutions of  the  housing  problem;  he  has 
insisted  upon  dentistry  for  the  poor;  he 
has  denounced  immigration  abuses,  and 
urged  aid  to  the  starving  in  European 
countries;  he  has  called  for  cleaner  res- 
taurants and  urged  that  everybody  who 
handles  food  for  consumption  shall  be 
licensed ;  he  has  inveighed  against  reck- 
less automobile  driving  on  the  east  side; 
at  Christmas  time  he  has  made  appeals 
for  gifts  of  toys  and  clothing  for  the  chil- 
dren of  the  City's  sanitarium  at  Otisville. 
Once,  as  Health  Commissioner,  he  threat- 
ened to  seize  and  operate  the  business  of 
the  dairy  companies  when  their  men 
were  on  strike.^ 


A  City  Exhibit  is  also  Effective  in  Teaching  the 
Citizens  How  to  Promote  Health 


A  Municipal  Health  Exhibit  at  Dayton,  Ohio 


Food  Values  Were  Demonstrated  by  Charts,  Pictures,  and  Lectures. 

Fig.  212 


iFrom  an  editorial  in  The  New  York  Times,  February  2,  1923,  concerning-  the 
■work  of  Dr.  Royal  S.  Copeland,  Health  Commissioner  in  New  York  City.  Dr.  Cope- 
land  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  in  November,  1922.  He  has  resigned 
the  Health  Commissionership,  to  take  effect  March  4,  1923. 

2Rightor,  C.  E.:  Op.  cit.,  page  70. 

\ 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 


75 


A  Clean  Dairy  means  Pure  Milk.    Daytonites  were  Taught  by  Models 
and  Lectures  to  Demand  the  Proper  Protection  of  the 
City's  Milk  Supply. 
Fig.  221 

How  the  City  Protects  its  Water  Supply 
One  of  the  most  important  things  that  each  city  must  protect  is  the  water 
that  the  people  drink.    Here  are  six  things  that  a  city  does  to  see  that  the 
water  that  its  citizens  drink  is  pure. 

1.  The  water  is  "aerated," — that  is,  all  the  water  is  run  through  pipes. 
These  pipes  have  openings  every  five  feet  and  pressure  is  applied  so  as  to 
force  the  water  to  spurt  up  through  the  openings  fifty  feet  into  the  air.  In 
mixing  with  the  air  harmful  orders,  vegetable  organisms,  and  gases  are  re- 
moved from  the  water. 

2.  Small  quantities  of  alum  mixed  with  the  water  remove  the  mud 
and  clay. 

3.  Other  harmful  germs  are  removed  by  a  chemical-chlorine  put  into 
the  water. 

After  these  things  are  done  the  water  is  filtered, — that  is,  it  is  run  over 
sand  beds.    Through  this  process  all  other  impurities  are  removed. 

5.  The  city  employs  chemists  who  analyze  samples  of  the  city  water 
each  day  to  see  that  it  is  free  from  harmful  germs. 

6.  One  other  thing  that  the  city  has  to  guard  against  is  the  danger  of 
people  throwing  refuse  into  the  source  of  the  water  supply.  Men  are  em- 
ployed to  patrol  city  reservoirs  to  prevent  this  from  happening. 


iRightor,  C.  E.:  Op.  cit.,  page  70. 


76 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Make  a  survey  of  the  water  supply  system  of  your  community?  Find 
out  how  many  and  which  ones  of  the  six  safeguards  listed  your  city  uses  to 
protect  the  water  supply. 

How  the  City  Protects  its  Milk  Supply 

Have  a  section  in  your  survey  on  this  topic. 

Find  some  pictures,  if  you  can,  to  show  how  the  city  has  your  milk  in- 
spected before  it  is  delivered.  Illustrate  other  points  also  by  pictures.  If 
you  write  the  milk  companies,  they  will  no  doubt  be  glad  to  supply  you 
with  advertising  material  from  which  you  can  get  the  pictures  you  require. 

Make  a  Food  Survey  of  Your  City 

Does  your  city  protect  the  food  that  goes  to  the  people  in  the  same  way 
that  it  protects  the  water  and  milk  supply  ? 

Are  there  food  inspectors?    How  many?    What  are  their  duties? 

See  what  kind  of  a  survey  you  can  make  of  this  aspect  of  your  community 
life.   See  if  you  can  get  records  of  food  inspections  made  in  your  town. 

Here  is  the  record  of  a  food  survey  made  by  the  health  officers  of  one 
city. 

What  One  City  Found  When  Health  Officers 
Made  a  Food  Survey 


Groceries 
and 

Markets 

Bakeries 

Wholesale 
fruit  and 
produce 

Candy  and 
Ice  Cream 
Stores 

Drug 
Stores 

Number  of  stores  inspected  _  -147 

Items  found  in  "Good"  condition  145 

"Fair"  condition     _             _   586 

17 
132 
77 
22 

5 
31 
24 

2 

5 

24 
11 
2 

44 
333 
141 

11 

Refrigerator  food  in  "Good"  condition  66 

9 
4 
4 

Exposed  goods 

Bad                              —    4 

3 

Food  Screened 

Fair  _          _____                            _  5 

Poor       1 

Not  Screened           _    _  _    _    _____  25 

1 

Flies  Present 

Many     _              —  _       _   10 

Some                                           -  -  9 

Few     -    10 

None       4 

THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY  77 


The  Health  of  the  children  in  a  city  must  be  safeguarded ;  many- 
cities  hire  doctors  and  nurses  to  make  frequent  examin- 
ations of  all  pupils  in  school. 


In  such  places  either  doctor  or  nurse  visits  every  school  every  day. 
Fig.  231 


The  work  of  doctors  and  nurses  in  examining  school  children  is  import- 
ant. Surveys  show  that  children  from  fine  homes  need  such  examinations 
as  much  as  children  from  poor  families.  The  next  table  lists  physical  de- 
fects found  in  a  school  situated  in  a  district  where  there  are  excellent  homes 
and  where  good  medical  service  is  available. 

The  next  table  shows  the  number  and  kinds  of  defects 
found  in  55  children  who  were  examined.  They  are  serious 
handicaps  tut  could  easily  be  corrected. 

Table  IIP 
55  children  examined 


Per  cent,  of  total  number 

Defects  No.  Children  of  children  examined 

Eyes  5  9.1  % 

Hearing  2  3.6% 

Breathing  44  80.0% 

Teeth  50  90.9% 

Other  5  9.1  % 

Total  130  Defect  per  child  2.4% 


lAyres,  L.  P.  and  May:  "Health  Work  in  Public  Schools,"  page  20.  Cleveland 
Foundation,  Cleveland,  1915. 

2  Schneider,  F.;  Op.  cit.,  page  68. 


78 


TOWN  AND  CITY   LlFli  IN  AMIiRlCA 


Is  the  health  of  the  people  of  your  community  endangered 
in  summer  by  flies? 

Do  you  have  many  flies  in  your  town?  Do  your  restaurants  buzz  with 
them?  Is  the  meat  in  your  markets  covered  with  them?  Do  they  infest 
your  bakeries? 

For  more  than  a  generation  our  people  have  known  that  serious  diseases 
are  spread  by  flies.  In  several  states  "fly  weeks"  have  been  appointed  in  the 
spring.  The  Governor,  the  educational  authorities,  and  the  health  authori- 
ties have  joined  hands  to  exterminate  the  fly.  In  such  "weeks"  villages, 
towns,  and  cities  hold  rousing  meetings.  Exhibits  are  arranged  showing  the 
dangers  incurred  by  letting  the  flies  live.  Contests  are  held  to  see  who  can 
kill  the  most  flies.  All  the  people  go  into  their  attics  and  kill  the  flies  that 
have  been  breeding  in  warm  places  through  the  winter.  This  is  a  particu- 
larly easy  way  to  rid  the  town  of  flies. 

In  the  schools  contests  are  held  to  see  who  can  write  the  best  composi- 
tion about  the  dangers  of  flies  and  the  best  ways  of  getting  rid  of  them.  The 
next  quotation  provides  an  excellent  illustration  of  what  can  be  done  by 
pupils. 

Prize  Composition  Written  by  an 

Eleven  Year  Old  Girl  ^ 

why  is  the  house-fly  dangerous?  ^ 

"Won't  you  come  into  my  parlor?"  says  the  spider  to  the  fly. 
"No,"  says  the  fly  to  the  spider,  "I  will  bring  you  all  kinds  of  diseases 
such  as  typhoid  fever  and  tuberculosis." 

"Well,  I'll  take  the  risk,"  says  the  spider. 

"No,  111  not  come  in,  but,  if  you  will  listen,  I  will  tell  you  my  history, 
and  then  I  am  sure  you'll  not  want  me,"  replied  the  fly. 

"Well,  my  mother  told  me  this  much.  She  said  I  came  out  of  a  little 
egg  laid  with  many  others  in  a  manure  pile.   .  .  . 

"I  always  lay  my  eggs  in  manure  or  other  filth.  The  people  are  screen- 
ing it  and  burning  it  and  burying  it.  They  try  to  kill  us  by  carbolic  acid 
and  sticky  fly-paper  where  so  many  of  my  friends  have  ended  their  days. 

"People  have  some  stuff,  too,  that  they  put  in  water  and  put  in  their 
bedrooms.   They  call  it  formalin,  but  I  keep  away  from  it,  as  it  is  sure  death. 

"The  worst  trouble  I  have  is  where  the  people  screen  their  houses  and 
keep  their  yards  clean  so  we  can't  get  anything  to  eat. 

"Our  worst  danger  is  not  the  carbolic  acid  or  fly-paper  and  such  things, 
though,  for  after  we  are  once  hatched  they  can  never  kill  us  all  off,  but  if 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 


79 


they  start  out  to  destroy  our  breeding-places,  the  manure  pile  and  other  filth, 
we  will  soon  be  gone  from  the  earth.  I  hope  men  will  never  find  that  out, 
but  I  fear  they  will  some  day."^ 

Have  you  ever  used  the  "fly  catechism"  in  your  school?  It  tells  very 
clearly  indeed  the  dangers  of  the  house-fly. 

FLY  CATECHISM^ 

1.  Where  is  the  Fly  born?    In  manure  and  filth. 

2.  Where  does  the  Fly  live?  In  all  kinds  of  filth  and  he  carries  filth  on 
his  feet  and  wings. 

3.  Where  does  the  Fly  go  when  he  leaves  the  manure  pile,  the  privy 
V  vault,  and  the  spittoon?    He  goes  into  the  kitchen,  the  dining-room,  and 

c  the  store. 

4.  What  does  the  Fly  do  there?    He  walks  on  the  bread,  fruit,  and 
^  vegetables ;  he  wipes  his  feet  on  the  butter  and  he  bathes  in  the  milk. 

5.  Does  the  Fly  visit  patients  sick  with  consumption,  typhoid  fever,  and 
cholera  infantum?  He  does  and  he  may  call  on  you  next  carrying  the  in- 
fection  of  these  diseases. 

^       6.  What  diseases  does  the  Fly  carry?    Typhoid  fever,  consumption, 
;  diarrhoeal  diseases,  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  and  in  fact  any  communicable 
viJ^  disease. 

^        7.  How  can  the  Fly  be  prevented?    By  destroying  all  the  filth  about 
^  your  premises ;  screen  the  privy  vault ;  cover  the  manure  bin ;  burn  all  waste 
matter;  destroy  your  garbage;  screen  your  house. 

Either  man  must  kill  the  fly  or  the  fly  will  kill  man.    Prevent  the  fly. 


Now  that  you  have  completed  this  preliminary  study  of  the  way  com- 
munities try  to  guard  the  health  of  their  people,  organize  a  health  survey  of 
your  own  town.  Appoint  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  plan  for  the  survey. 
To  do  that  each  pupil  ought  to  do  some  more  reading  on  the  problem.  For 
the  names  of  books  refer  back  to  pages  27  and  28  and  find  the  ones  that  have 
to  do  with  "health."  In  doing  this  reading  and  in  planning  your  survey 
have  in  mind  such  points  as  the  following: 

A.  GENERAL 

1.  Examples  of  the  work  of  the  city  health  department  such  as  inspec- 
tion. 

2.  Average  death  rate  per  1000  population  in  American  cities.  What 
percent  of  the  deaths  are  infants  under  one  year?  Ways  in  which  a  city 
may  cut  down  its  death  rate. 

1  Quoted  from  Andress,  J.  M.:  "Health  and  Education  in  Rural  Schools,"  page  163. 


80 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


3.  What  does  the  city  do  to  make  certain  that  its  water  supply  is  pure? 

4.  How  does  the  community  protect  the  food  that  the  people  eat? 

5.  Have  in  mind  that  poor  housing  and  living  conditions  threaten  the 
health  of  the  city. 

6.  What  is  done  to  safeguard  the  health  of  pupils  in  schools? 

7.  Make  a  list  of  at  least  ten  health  standards  that  each  city  ought  to 
insist  upon.  (Check  these  when  you  investigate  your  own  community.  How 
well  does  your  city  measure  up  to  them?) 

B.  AMOUNT  OF  SICKNESS 

1.  Find  out  from  the  city  health  officers  or  city  health  reports  the  chief 
kinds  of  illness  in  your  community. 

2.  Find  out  if  there  have  been  any  serious  epidemics  of  influenza,  small 
pox,  typhoid  fever,  etc.  Have  the  causes  of  these  epidemics  been  remedied? 
How? 

3.  Find  out  the  proportion  of  children  in  your  school  who  are  out  on 
account  of  sickness  in  October,    in  January. 

C.  WATER  SUPPLY 

1.  Where  does  your  city  get  its  water — from  wells?  from  lakes?  or 
from  rivers? 

2.  What  is  done  to  make  certain  that  it  is  pure  ? 

(Find  out  if  the  city  has  people  employed  to  test  the  purity  of  the  water 
supply.) 

3.  Find  out  if  there  are  any  families  who  depend  for  water  on  private 
wells;  if  possible,  find  out  the  conditions  of  some  of  these  wells. 

D.  FOOD  SUPPLY 

1.  Does  your  city  have  milk  and  food  inspectors?  If  so,  find  out  about 
the  work  of  these  inspectors.    (Interview  such  agents  or  get  their  reports.) 

2.  See  if  you  can  find  any  examples  of  good  or  bad  conditions  in  respect 
to  the  sale  of  food.  (Look  for  cleanliness  in  stores,  and  absence  of  dirt,  flies, 
etc.) 

E.  HOUSING  AND  LIVING  CONDITIONS 

1.  Walk  through  one  of  the  better  sections  of  your  city  and  then  visit 
a  section  where  the  housing  is  poor,  (a)  Estimate  the  number  of  people 
living  per  house  in  each  district,  (b)  Are  the  houses  in  good  repair?  (c)  Is 
there  sufficient  air  and  sunlight  or  are  some  of  the  rooms  dark?  (d)  Is 
there  yard  space  about  the  houses  for  play  and  air?  (e)  Are  there  disease- 
breeding  conditions  in  the  neighborhood?    What  ones?     (f)  Are  there 


THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 


81 


bad  odors  or  noises  in  the  neighborhood?  (Get  any  other  facts  you  can 
from  your  city  health  officials  and  his  reports  as  to  health  conditions.) 

2.  Also  notice  the  health  conditions  of  the  different  sections  of  the  city. 
Are  the  streets  paved?  Are  they  clean  or  filthy?  Are  they  shaded  with 
trees  ?  Is  there  park  or  playground  space  in  the  vicinity  ?  Are  there  places 
v\^here  flies  and  mosquitoes  could  gather? 

3.  Does  the  city  remove  garbage  and  refuse?  How? 

4.  Are  there  vacant  lots  with  refuse  on  them  ? 

F.  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS 

1.  Are  public  buildings  kept  clean? 

2.  Are  theaters  kept  clean  and  ventilated? 

3.  Does  any  city  official  inspect  such  buildings?  If  so,  with  what  re- 
sults ? 

G.  SCHOOL  HEALTH 

1.  Are  school  buildings  kept  clean? 

2.  Do  you  have  a  school  doctor  or  nurse,  or  both?  If  so,  what  do  they 
do?    How  does  their  work  help  you? 

3.  Are  the  seats  in  your  class  rooms  adjustable  to  the  heights  of  indiv- 
idual pupils? 

4.  Are  the  rooms  well  lighted  ? 

5.  How  large  a  playground  do  you  have?  Compute  the  space  per  pupil 
by  estimating  the  number  of  square  feet  in  your  playground  and  dividing  it 
by  the  number  of  pupils  in  your  school. 

6.  Does  your  school  have  sanitary  drinking  fountains? 

H.  HEALTH  REGULATION  IN  FACTORIES 

1.  See  if  you  can  find  out  whether  factories  and  stores  have  to  obey 
any  laws  in  respect  to  health.  (Ventilation,  light,  cleanliness,  etc.)  If  so^ 
find  examples. 

2.  Find  out  if  any  factories  employ  doctors  and  nurses.  If  so,  what 
do  they  do? 

To  the  Teacher:  Much  of  this  information  can  be 
gained  from  the  reports  of  the  city  Board  of  Health;  or 
if  the  pupils  will  prepare  a  short  list  of  questions  (about 
10-15)  they  can  probably  get  the  answers  to  them  in  a 
personal  interview  at  the  office  of  the  Board  of  Health, 
or  from  some  interested  doctor — possibly  the  school 
doctor. 


SECTION  IX. 


WHAT  THE  POLICE  FORCE  DOES  FOR  US 

Is  There  Much  Crime  in  Your  Town?    In  the  Cities  of 
America  There  is  an  Enormous  Amount  of  Crime 

"For  the  year  1920  Cleveland,  with  approximately  800,000  population, 
had  six  times  as  many  murders  as  London,  with  8,000,000  population.  For 
every  robbery  or  assault  with  intent  to  rob  committed  during  this  same 
period  in  London  there  were  17  such  crimes  committed  in  Cleveland.  Cleve- 
land had  as  many  murders  during  the  first  three  months  of  the  present 
year  as  London  had  during  all  oi  1920.  Liverpool  is  about  one  and  one- 
half  times  larger  than  Cleveland,  and  yet  in  1919  Cleveland  reported  31 
robberies  for  each  one  reported  in  Liverpool,  and  three  times  the  number  of 
murders  and  manslaughters.  Practically  the  same  ratio  holds  between 
Cleveland  and  Glasgow.  There  are  more  robberies  and  assaults  to  rob  in 
Cleveland  every  year  than  in  all  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales  put  to- 
gether. In  1919  there  were  2,327  automobiles  stolen  in  Cleveland;  in  Lon- 
don there  were  290;  in  Liverpool,  10."^ 

De  we  need  police  departments  in  our 
American  communities. 

One  has  only  to  scan  the  headlines  of  the  newspapers  of  any  of  our  medi- 
um-sized or  large  cities  to  discover  that  such  a  community  cannot  exist 
without  a  police  force.  Murders,  assaults,  robbery,  violations  of  motor 
laws,  of  street  laws,  disorderly  conduct,  peddling  without  a  license,  neglect 
of  side-walks  in  front  of  one's  property,  misdemeanors  and  crimes  of  all 
sorts  and  kinds  and  of  all  degrees  of  enormity  are  set  before  the  public  in 
glaring  type. 

Why  so  much  more  crime  in  America  than  in  England?  For  several 
reasons,  probably.  Of  course  America  is  a  much  younger  and  more  rapidly 
growing  country.  Cities  have  been  springing  up  here  at  a  rate  unheard  of 
in  the  modern  world.  No  doubt  when  people  crowd  together  at  such  start- 
ling rates  as  in  the  past  century  in  this  country  misconduct  is  bound  to  be 
more  general.  New  country  though  it  is,  however,  there  is  one  great  reason 
why  American  cities  have  been  such  unsafe  places  to  live  in — the  ineffici- 
ency of  the  police  and  the  courts.    Of  the  two  it  is  hard  to  say  which  has 

1  Criminal  Justice  in  Cleveland:  Reports  of  the  Cleveland  Foundation  Survey  of 
the  Administration  of  Criminal  Justice  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  page  3.  The  Cleveland 
Foundation,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


THE  POLICE  FORCE 


85 


been  more  at  fault.  Now  we  shall  soon  take  up  some  typical  examples  to 
make  clear  the  point  that  has  been  made.  But  first  we  must  study  a  bit 
about  the  difficult  conditions  under  which  the  policeman  works.  For  the 
individual  policeman  we  must  have  a  great  deal  of  consideration  indeed.  It 
is  the  system  under  which  he  works  that  we  must  be  very  critical  of,  and  it 
is  to  the  system,  not  the  policeman,  that  our  proposed  changes  for  the  better 
must  be  directed. 

What  does  the  policeman  *'on  the  beat" 
start  when  he  makes  an  arrest  ? 

"Whenever  a  policeman  makes  an  arrest  he  starts  the  whole  machine  of 
law  going.  When  the  policeman  says,  'My  friend,  you  are  under  arrest,' 
he  pushes  a  button  that  starts  the  machinery. 

"He  opens  the  signal  box,  calls  the  station  house,  reports  the  arrest.  The 
chauffeur  of  the  patrol  wagon  puts  out  his  pipe,  cranks  his  engine,  clangs 
his  bell,  rumbles  out  of  the  garage,  rings  his  way  up  the  street  to  the  box 
where  the  officer  and  the  dazed  prisoner  are  waiting.  Into  the  Black  Maria 
[the  prisoner]  steps,  down  the  street  he  whirls,  into  the  station  house  he  goes. 
There  he  goes  before  the  high  rail  and  gives  to  a  gruff  lieutenant  his  narrie^ 
address,  occupation,  and  various  other  facts.  Into  a  cell  then,  and  he  hears  the 
ominous  click  of  the  lock  as  the  doorman  shuts  him  in.  After  a  few  hours' 
waiting  the  patrol  wagon  again  gets  into  action  and  he  goes  to  court.  Here 
he  is  turned  over  to  an  entirely  new  machine  and  is  taken  in  charge  by  the 
court  officers.  He  stays  in  some  sort  of  detention  pen  until  his  turn  is  reached ; 
probably  one  or  two  shyster  lawyers  symphathize  with  him  and,  for  a  suffi- 
cient emolument,  tell  him  how  easy  it  will  be  for  them  to  clear  him.  Sud- 
denly he  is  haled  before  the  judge  and  finds  himself  confronted  again  by 
the  same  policeman  who  took  him  into  custody.  The  policeman's  story  is 
told;  he  tells  his  story.   The  judge  holds  him  for  trial  before  a  higher  court. 

"Behind  the  bars  again,  to  stay  there  perhaps  for  months — perhaps  more 
than  a  year,  unless  he  manages  to  find  someone  who  will  go  bail  for  him  so 
that  he  can  be  free  pending  trial.  Then  the  appearance  before  another 
judge,  the  impaneling  of  a  jury,  the  consultations  with  his  own  lawyer,  the 
impatience  when  he  feels  that  his  case  is  not  being  handled  as  well  as  it 
should  be;  the  intricate  legal  machinery  with  judge,  stenographer,  court 
officers,  jury,  spectators.  And  then  the  trial  ends,  and  the  jury  may  dis- 
agree and  he  have  to  go  through  the  whole  thing  again,  or  he  may  be  joy- 
fully acquitted,  or  he  may  be  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  go  up  the  river 
for  months  or  years. 

"All  this  machinery,  all  this  drab  sequence  of  events,  was  started,  or  was 
not  started,  according  to  the  decision  of  the  policeman  on  the  post  as  to 
whether  or  not  he  should  make  the  arrest.  If  he  makes  the  arrest,  the  whole 
operation  must  follow.    It  is  as  inevitable  as  is  the  roast  beef  when  the 


84 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Steer  first  puts  his  nose  inside  the  high  gates  of  the  packing-house;  or  as  is 
the  little  motor  car  when  the  bar  of  steel  first  is  swung  into  place  in  the  big 
factory."^ 

Do  you  see  what  a  responsibility  the  policeman  has?  Every  day,  hour 
after  hour  he  has  to  be  a  "judge"  as  well  as  a  patrolman.  He  is  supposed 
to  observe  everything  that  goes  on  in  the  street,  in  the  houses  and  buildings, 
noises,  automobiles  standing  or  passing — all  the  rigmarole  of  city  streets 
and  neighborhood  life.  And  through  it  all  he  is  supposed  to  know  all  the 
thousands  of  national,  state,  and  municipal  ordinances  and  to  be  able  to 
''judge"  instantly  whether  there  is  a  violation  or  not.  Each  year  the  state 
legislature  passes  many  new  laws  applicable  to  the  city  which  the  policeman 
must  know.  Each  year  the  city  council  grinds  out  new  ordinances  for  him 
to  enforce.  And  his  decisions  as  to  what  law  to  enforce  and  how  to  enforce 
it  has  to  be  made  in  the  hustle  and  bustle  of  the  city  out-of-doors,  not  in  the 
quiet  of  a  judge's  study  or  a  court  room. 

"In  the  confusion  of  the  scene  or  because  of  the  puzzle  of  the  point  at 
issue  a  policeman  may  easily  overstep  his  rights  under  the  law,  yet  if  he 
does  so  even  by  the  fraction  of  an  inch,  'even  in  the  estimation  of  a  hair,'  he 
at  once  loses  his  immunity,  becomes  a  plain  ordinary  citizen  like  the  rest  of 
us  and  is  personally  liable  under  either  criminal  or  civil  action  like  any  other 
civilian.  The  law  permits  him,  for  instance,  to  use  force,  and  all  the  force 
that  is  necessary  in  order  to  perform  his  legal  duty,  but  he  must  be  able  to 
demonstrate  that  it  actually  was  his  duty,  that  force  was  needed,  and  that 
he  did  not  use  one  ounce  more  than  was  absolutely  necessary.  A  policeman 
is  therefore  apt  to  be  cautious  and  to  refrain  from  taking  action  if  there  is 
doubt. 

And  there  is  often  doubt.  What  should  he  do  when  he  walks  through 
the  heart  of  the  tenement  district  of  the  city  on  a  sweltering  August  night 
and  sees  a  pale,  driven  mother  sleeping  on  a  fire  escape  with  her  five  children, 
trying  to  get  a  trace  of  a  breath  of  fresh  air  which  they  could  not  find  in 
their  stuffy  room?  The  law  forbids  this  use  of  fire  escapes;  but  the  police- 
man will  hardly  have  the  heart  to  enforce  the  law  by  driving  these  unfortun- 
ate people  into  agony  again.   What  is  his  'duty'  ?"^ 

What  is  the  policeman's  duty  in  this  case?  "Two  excited  men  may  come 
out  of  a  hotel  entrance,  one,  the  hotel  clerk,  demanding  that  the  officer  ar- 
rest the  other.  'If  you  don't  arrest  him  I  will  see  the  Commissioner  and  have 
your  shield  taken  away.  This  man  tried  to  beat  the  hotel  out  of  his  bill,  he 
tried  to  slip  over  a  phony  check  on  me.' 

"  'If  you  arrest  me,'  answers  the  other,  'I  will  sue  you  and  stay  with  it 
till  I've  got  your  year's  salary.  There  was  nothing  phony  about  that  check. 
I  just  happened  to  let  my  account  get  overdrawn  for  a  day  or  two.' 

1  Woods,  Arthur:  "Policeman  and  Public,"  pages  41-43.  Yale  University  Press, 
New  Haven,'  1919. 

2 Ibid.,  pages  28-29. 


THE  POLICE  FORCE 


85 


"Again,  what  is  the  policeman  to  do?  If  the  man  never  had  an  account 
in  the  bank  he  would  be  guilty  of  larceny ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had  had 
an  account  and  simply  overdrew  it,  he  would  be  guilty  only  of  carelessness. 
But  the  policeman  has  no  time  to  make  an  examination  at  the  bank.  He  has 
to  decide  right  then  and  there  whether  or  not  he  will  make  the  arrest."^ 

It  is  a  difficult  place  to  put  one  of  our  public  servants  in,  isn't  it?  He 
learns  to  be  cautious  and  to  decide  carefully  what  to  do.  And  no  wonder, 
for  in  a  free  country — in  a  democracy  like  ours — each  citizen  has  certain  lib- 
erties which  he  prizes  very  dearly.  For  more  than  a  century  America  has 
marched  steadily  toward  democracy,  fighting  decade  by  decade  for  certain 
fundamental  liberties.  These,  her  citizens  feel,  must  not  be  encroached  upon 
even  by  the  policemen  whom  they  help  to  hire. 

Here  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  more  important  liberties  of 
all  American  citizens. 

1.  No  person  shall  be  held  for  a  crime  unless  an  official  charge  of  the 
crime  is  presented  by  a  grand  jury.    This  charge  is  called  an  indictment. 

2.  In  all  criminal  cases  the  accused  person  shall  be  entitled  to  a  speedy 
and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  in  the  district  in  which  the  crime  was 
committed ;  to  be  informed  of  the  crime  with  which  he  is  accused ;  to  hear 
the  witnesses  who  are  brought  against  him  and  to  have  the  assistance  of  the 
Court  in  compelling  witnesses  who  can  testify  in  his  favor  to  do  so;  and,  if 
poor,  to  have  lawyers  to  defend  him  without  cost  to  himself.  He  cannot  be 
compelled  to  testify  against  himself  or  be  tried  again  for  the  same  offense 
if  once  declared  innocent  of  it. 

3.  Government  officers  may  not  search  a  citizen's  home  unless  they 
have  a  paper  called  a  "search  warrant"  signed  by  a  judge,  properly  sworn 
to,  that  states  that  evidence  of  violation  of  law  is  in  the  home. 

4.  No  person  shall  be  deprived  of  his  liberty,  life,  or  property  without  a 
legal  trial  by  our  courts. 

5.  No  law  may  be  passed  to  interfere  with  the  right  to  speak  and  write 
freely.  Citizens  have  the  right  to  worship  God  in  any  way  they  wish ;  and 
to  meet  in  groups  to  discuss  things  of  interest  to  the  group. 

6.  No  person  shall  be  imprisoned  for  debt.  (This  liberty  was  not  estab- 
lished until  the  middle  1800's). 

7.  All  elections  shall  be  open  without  hindrance  to  all  qualified  citizens. 

8.  No  law  shall  be  passed  which  injures  citizens  for  acts  committed  be- 
fore the  law  is  passed. 

9.  A  person  accused  of  crime,  except  certain  very  serious  ones,  may  be 
released  "on  bail" — that  is,  by  some  person  of¥ering  a  sum  of  money  fixed  by 
our  courts  as  a  guarantee  that  he  will  appear  for  trial  when  called. 


1  Woods,  Arthur:  Op.  cit.,  pages  33-34. 


TOWN   AND  CITY   LIFE   IN  AMERICA 


To  the  Teacher:  If  you  can  arrange  it,  make  an  ex- 
cursion with  the  class  to  your  local  court  roonn  when 
simple  cases  are  being  tried.  By  all  means  discuss  this 
plan  with  school  and  court  officials.  It  may  not  be  feas- 
ible to  do  this,  but  if  it  can  be  arranged,  it  will  teach 
your  class  in  a  very  effective  way  how  your  city  protects 
its  citizens,  not  only  against  those  who  violate  the  laws, 
but  also  how  it  protects  accused  persons  against  infringe- 
ment of  the  liberties  that  we  as  a  people  enjoy. 

Examples  of  efficiency  and  heroism  on  the 
part  of  policemen. 

So  you  see  the  police  are  faced  with  very  great  difficulties  and  very  great 
responsibilities  in  a  new  democracy  like  ours.  Here  are  some  examples  of 
their  efficiency  and  heroism. 

"A  number  of  years  ago  a  Gamewell  signal  and  alarm  device  was  in- 
stalled in  the  Berkeley  police  station,  and  switchboard  and  automobiles 
work  naturally  together  in  police  service,  neither  being  capable  of  getting 
the  best  results  without  the  other.  Many  things  are  gained  by  the  com- 
bination, but  chief  among  them  is  speed — that  all-important  factor  in  police 
work.  .  .  . 

"From  the  alarm  boxes  on  the  street  each  patrolman  reports  to  the 
central  station  once  an  hour.  He  calls  his  name  and  the  number  of  the  box, 
the  location  from  which  he  calls  being  confirmed  by  a  telegraphic  tape  which 
runs  simultaneously  with  the  indicator  alarm  box.  The  tape  registers  the 
number  of  the  box  and  the  hour  and  minute  of  the  call,  and  the  system 
keeps  officers  and  sergeant  in  close  touch. 

"Whenever  a  policeman  is  needed  between  calls,  the  desk  officer  presses 
an  electric  button,  and  on  the  street  a  red  light  flashes,  so  many  times  for 
the  man  in  one  district,  so  many  times  for  one  in  another.  In  case  of  mur- 
der or  other  great  crime,  all  the  police  lights  of  the  city  are  turned  on  in  a 
steady  blaze,  and  in  less  than  half  a  minute  the  men  begin  to  call  in — as 
swiftly,  in  fact,  as  they  can  motor  to  the  nearest  boxes  and  unlock  them. 
This  means  of  quick  communication,  coupled  with  the  automobile  service, 
makes  it  possible  for  the  full  force  to  be  at  work  in  an  incredibly  short  space 
of  time. 

"The  first  man  to  report  may  be  sent  speeding  after  the  automobile  in 
which  the  criminal  is  making  his  escape;  the  next  may  be  assigned  to  cover 
the  nearest  street  car  to  which  the  fleeing  man  might  transfer  himself ;  others 
are  sent  to  the  scene  of  the  crime  itself.  Even  the  inspectors  use  automo- 
biles, and  finger-print  men  are  on  the  scene  while  the  finger-prints  are  fresh. 
Often  the  victim  of  the  crime  has  his  life  saved  by  means  of  the  first-aid 
outfit  which  every  officer  carries  in  his  machine,  and,  if  the  injury  be  not 
too  severe,  the  sufferer  is  taken  direct  to  the  hospital  without  having  to  wait 
for  an  ambulance.   .  .  . 


THE  POLICE  FORCE 


87 


"Recently  a  woman  telephoned  that  she  had  heard  a  shot  and  had  seen 
a  man,  whose  description  she  gave,  running  away  from  the  vicinity.  A  man 
from  the  station,  a  finger-print  expert,  ran  out,  jumped  into  his  car,  and 
went  speeding  towards  the  junction  nearest  the  scene  of  the  crime.  He  ar- 
rested a  man  answering  in  a  general  way  to  the  description  given,  who  was 
running  for  a  car  which  would  have  taken  him  to  another  city. 

"The  fellow  was  turned  over  to  a  patrolman,  and  the  arresting  officer 
went  to  the  scene  of  the  crime,  where  he  found  the  body  of  the  victim,  who 
had  been  murdered.  He  also  found  a  dagger,  dropped  in  the  haste  to  flight 
by  the  murderer,  whose  first  intention  had  evidently  been  to  use  it  instead 
of  the  gun.  Before  anyone  else  had  an  opportunity  to  touch  the  dagger,  the 
finger-print  man  was  able  to  develop  the  latent  prints  upon  it;  at  the  sta- 
tion the  finger-prints  of  the  arrested  man  were  taken — and  they  tallied  with 
the  impression  on  the  knife. 

The  New  York  World  February  10,  1923 


"ROOKIE"  COP  BRAVELY  RESCUES  COUPLE  IN  FIRE 


He  Modestly  Neglects  to  Report  Heroism 


"Probationary  Policeman  Edward  Cos- 
grove  of  the  Stapleton,  Staten  Island, 
Precinct  had  a  busy  morning  today,  but 
nobody  would  have  known  much  about 
it  if  it  had  not  been  for  Battalion  Chief 
Dunn  of  the  Fire  Department.  Cosgrove 
saved  at  least  two  lives,  those  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  William  Mahlman  of  No.  121  Van 
Deuzer  Street,  Tompkinsville,  and  saved 
a  lot  more  from  danger. 

"Passing  the  three-story  frame  house 
at  dawn,  Cosgrove  saw  smoke  coming 
from  the  second-story  windows.  He  broke 
in  the  front  door  and  hustled  the  family 
living  there  out  into  the  street.  Then  he 
ran  to  the  second  floor,  broke  in  the  door 
and  found  the  place  all  ablaze;  the  ab- 
sence of  furniture  assured  him  the  flat 
was  unoccupied.  The  fire  had  gone 
through  into  the  stairway,  so  he  could 
not  reach  the  third  floor. 

"Cosgrove  ran  out  to  the  street,  sound- 
ed a  fire  alarm  and  ran  into  a  lumber 
yard  across  the  way.  There  are  always 
ladders  in  a  lumber  yard.  He  found  a 
twenty-foot  ladder,  dragged  it  back  to  the 


Grant  Street  side  of  the  house,  propped  it; 
against  a  third-story  window  and  climbed 
up  and  in. 

"He  found  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mahlman 
asleep,  with  little  tongues  of  fire  just: 
creeping  in  through  the  panels  of  the  door 
of  the  apartment.  Uncerimoniously,  he 
dragged  Mrs.  Mahlman  out  of  bed, 
wrapped  her  in  a  comforter  and  started 
down  the  ladder. 

"Fireman  Edward  Wise  of  Engine  Co. 
No.  54  met  him  half  way  and  took  Mrs. 
Mahlman  from  him.  Then  both  of  themi 
went  back  and  brought  down  Mr.  Mahl- 
man. 

"Cosgrove  at  the  end  of  his  tour  turn- 
ed in  a  memorandum  that  he  had  turned 
in  an  alarm  of  fire  from  No.  121  Van 
Deuzer  Street.' 

A  few  moments  later  Chief  Dunn  came 
along  and  requested  the  desk  sergeant  to 
enter  on  the  blotter  a  notation  that  Cos- 
grove and  Wise  were  entitled  to  credit 
for  life  saving  by  quick  wit  and  bravery. 
Then,  to  his  surprise,  he  was  informed 
that  Cosgrove  was  a  younger  brother  of 
State  Senator  Thomas  Cosgrove." 


1  "The  American  City":  Vol.  18,  pages 


41-43. 


88 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


An  Illustration  of  Another  Service  of  the  Police: 

THE  detective  SERVICE 

'One  moment,  please,'  said  a  fussy  lady  who  was  buying  a  loin  of  pork 
in  a  Brooklyn  butcher  shop.  'I  am  anxious  to  know  just  how  much  the 
meat  weighs.  Six  pounds  and  thirteen  ounces.  Thank  you.  What  a 
wonderful  scale  you  have!  A  hundred  dollars!  And  it  even  does  the  com- 
puting for  you!  May  I  see  how  it  works?  It  must  save  a  lot  of  time  for 
you?    Does  this  string  on  the  beam  have  anything  to  do  with  the  weighing?' 

"The  interested  purchaser  casually  laid  her  package  of  loin  on  the  scale 
and  practiced  weighing  while  carrying  on  the  conversation  with  the  affable 
butcher.  After  she  had  examined  the  scale  to  her  satisfaction  and  was  ap- 
parently about  to  depart,  she  remarked  to  the  butcher:  'I  believe  I'll  take 
this  scale  along  with  me.  Do  you  know  I  really  think  it  registers  six  ounces 
more  than  the  true  weight  every  time  you  use  it?  I'm  from  the  Mayor's 
Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures.' 

"On  being  asked  if  the  foregoing  story  were  true  and  if  the  case  were 
typical,  the  Commissioner  of  the  Bureau  replied : 

"  'Yes,  it  is  substantially  just  what  happened  in  that  case.  I  can  give  you 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  parties  concerned.  There  are  many  similar 
cases.  We  have  nine  thousand  retail  butchers  in  the  city,  and  it  is  a  re- 
grettable fact  that  they  are  not  all  honest.   .  .  .  Complaints  arc  filed  with 


The  City  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures  inspects  all  scales  and  meas- 
ures used  in  selling  food.    Merchants  using  false  scales  and  short  meas- 
ures  are  arrested   and  punished,   and  the   scales   and  measures 
are  confiscated. 

Fig.  241 


iRightor,  C.  E.:  Op.  cit.,  page  126. 


THE  POLICE  FORCE 


89 


us  in  person,  in  writing,  or  by  telephone,  and  we  immediately  send  our  in- 
spectors out  to  investigate.  In  this  particular  case  we  secured  the  convic- 
tion of  the  man  and  his  clerk.  The  employer  was  sentenced  to  be  fined 
$100  or  thirty  days  in  the  workhouse,  and  the  employee  was  sent  to  the 
workhouse  for  ten  days."^ 

The  Police  Have  Become  Traffic  Officers 
in  All  Cities 


This  picture  shows  how  the  traffic  is  regulated  in  New  York  City.  60,- 

000  automobiles  and  probably  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pedestrians  cross 
this  intersection  of  42d  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue  every  day.  To  prevent 
accidents  is  one  of  the  great  tasks  of  the  Police  Department.  Policemen  are 
stationed  at  all  corners  to  prevent  people  from  crossing  until  the  signals  in 
this  tower  are  given.  While  the  yellow  light  is  on  all  traffic  moves  north 
and  south  on  Fifth  Ave. ;  when  a  red  light  appears,  the  movement  of 
vehicles  stops  still  until  a  green  light  signals  for  the  current  of  cross  town 
east-and-west  traffic  to  resume  its  fiow.^ 

Fig.  25 

Our  Police  on  Guard  to  Protect  People  at 
Street  Crossings. 

"Say,  you,  step  back  on  the  sidewalk  and  stay  there  until  I  say  you  can 
cross  over."  So  spoke  a  traffic  "cop"  to  an  impatient  youth  who  had  started 
to  "take  his  chance"  in  threading  the  maze  of  swiftly  moving  automobiles 
at  14th  St.  and  Broadway,  (one  of  the  New  York's  conjested  corners).  "Do 
you  want  to  get  killed, — that's  the  way  it  happens,"  continued  the  cop.  "Ev- 
eryone in  a  hurry."  he  added  to  a  man  standing  by,  "not  a  day  goes  by  that 
some  "guy"  does  not  get  hit  for  just  such  tricks." 

1  Courtesy  of  The  Outlook,  issue  of  January  21,  1920,  page  116. 

2  Courtesy  of  The  Outlook. 


90  TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


"Safety-First!    Why  Necessary? 


In  a  hurry  to  pass  this  street  the  driver  goes  to  the  left  of  the  cars  and 
meets  another  car  coming  toward  him.  It  is  against  the  law  to  drive  on  the 
left  side  of  a  street  car.  When  the  law  is  disobeyed  what  this  picture  shows 
is  likely  to  happen. 

Fig.  26^ 


WE  HAVE  STUDIED  THE  BRIGHT  SIDE  OF  THE  STORY. 
NOW  LET  US  TURN  TO  THE  DARK  SIDE:    THE  MISCAR- 
CARRIAGE  OF  JUSTICE  IN  AMERICA. 

How  America's  Handling  of  Law  So  Frequently 
Defeats  Justice 

1.    Criminals  Go  Free  through  "  Technical"  Mistakes 

.  .  In  the  first  place,  our  legal  procedure  with  its  red  tape  and  tech- 
nicalities is  fantastically  employed  to  aid  the  criminal.  When  a  verdict  of 
murder  is  set  aside  because  the  word  'aforethought'  is  omitted  after  the  word 
'malice' ;  when  a  man  convicted  of  assault  with  intent  to  kill  is  freed  be- 
cause the  copying  clerk  left  out  the  letter  /  in  the  word  malice;  when  art 
indictment  for  rape  is  held  defective  because  it  concluded  'against  the  peace 
and  dignity  of  State'  instead  of  'against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  State* ; 
when  another  murderer  is  discharged  because  the  prosecution  neglected  to 
prove  that  the  real  name  of  the  victim  and  his  alias  represented  one  and  the 
same  person;  when  a  horse-thief  is  released  because  the  indictment  ended 
in  the  words  'against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  state  of  W.  Virginia, *" 


1  From  "American  City,"  Vol.  18,  page  440. 


THE  POLICE  FORCE  91 


instead  of  'against  the  peace  of  the  state  of  West  Virginia' — briefly,  when 
in  a  manner  utterly  unknown  in  Europe,  such  absurdities  can  be  spun  to 
defeat  the  ends  of  justice,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  police  are  slack  and 
careless.  The  morale  of  the  best  police  organization  in  the  world  would 
soon  be  broken  down  in  such  an  environment.  'It's  small  satisfaction  to 
catch  the  crooks,'  a  chief  of  detectives  told  me,  'when  you  know  all  the  time 
that  some  sharp  legal  trick  will  be  used  to  turn  them  free.' 

"A  member  of  the  Alabama  Bar,  addressing  the  Bar  Association  of  that 
State,  said :  'I  have  examined  about  75  murder  cases  that  found  their  way 
into  the  reports  of  Alabama.  More  than  half  of  those  cases  were  reversed 
and  not  a  single  one  of  them  on  any  matter  that  went  to  the  merits  of  the 
case ;  and  a  very  few  of  them  upon  any  matter  that  could  have  influenced  the 
jury  in  reaching  a  verdict.'  This  same  story  comes  from  all  over  the 
country.  ... 

"In  a  single  year  in  Oregon — to  use  an  illustration  that  could  be  dupli- 
cated everywhere — there  occurred  56  homicides.  Forty-six  of  the  offenders 
were  arrested.  Of  these,  ten  committed  suicide  and  36  were  held  for  trial. 
Of  the  36,  only  three  were  convicted  at  all,  and  of  these  only  one  for  murder 
in  the  first  degree.  In  1913  in  the  City  of  New  York  there  were  323  homi- 
cides, 185  arrests  and  only  80  convictions.  Of  the  80  convictions,  ten  re- 
ceived death  sentences.  In  1914  in  the  same  city  there  were  292  homi- 
cides, 185  arrests  and  66  convictions.  Of  the  66  convictions,  six  received 
death  sentences.  In  1917  in  New  York  there  were  236  homicides,  280  ar- 
rests and  67  convictions,  of  which  nine  received  death  sentences.  In  1918 
in  the  same  city  there  were  221  homicides,  256  arrests,  and  77  convictions, 
of  which  six  received  death  sentences.  In  Detroit  during  the  fiscal  year 
1917  there  were  89  murders,  104  arrests,  and  fourteen  convictions;  in  the 
fiscal  year  1918,  there  were  71  murders,  147  arrests  and  22  convictions. 
The  annual  homicide  calculations  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  which,  after 
careful  checking,  seem  to  be  as  accurate  as  any  criminal  statistics  can  be 
under  our  present  system,  indicate  the  following  facts  regarding  culpable 
homicide  in  the  United  States: 

Total  number  of  Total  number  of 

Year  culpable  homicides  legal  executions 

1916   8,372  115 

1917   7,803  85 

1918   7,667  85"! 

2.  How  Justice  is  Defeated  through  Delays 

"The  delays  of  the  courts  furnish  another  reason  for  the  failure  of  our 
administration  of  justice.  A  random  examination  of  almost  any  volume 
of  appellate  court  decisions  will  fully  substantiate  this  charge.    For  example. 


1  Fosdick,  Raymond  B. :  "American  Police  Systems,"  pages  29-30;  31-33.  The 
-Century  Co.,  New  York,  1921. 


92 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


in  Illinois  one  Sam  Siracusa  was  tried  for  murder  in  October,  1913,  and 
pleaded  guilty.  On  a  writ  of  error  the  case  was  carried  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Illinois  where  judgment  was  affirmed  exactly  three  years  from  the 
date  of  conviction.  The  case  was  not  finally  disposed  of  until  three  months 
later  when  a  rehearing  was  denied.  Dominick  Delfino  was  convicted  of 
murder  in  Pennsylvania  in  October,  1916.  One  year  and  three  months 
later  the  judgment  was  affirmed.  .  .  .  Oresto  Shilitano  in  the  same  state  was 
convicted  of  murder  on  March  6,  1914.  Judgment  was  affirmed  two  years 
and  two  months  later.  Similarly,  Leo  Urban  was  found  guilty  in  New 
York  of  robbery  in  the  first  degree  on  December  14,  1915.  Judgment  was 
affirmed  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  July  3,  1917.  These  are  not  unusual 
cases.    They  are  picked  at  random  from  miscellaneous  law  reports.  .  .  . 

"Radically  different  is  the  situation  in  Great  Britain.  Under  the  Eng- 
lish law  appeals  to  the  Court  of  Criminal  Appeal  must  be  taken  within  ten 
days  after  conviction.  Ordinarily  the  court  renders  its  decision  in  from 
seventeen  to  twenty-one  days,  although  in  murder  cases  involving  the  death 
penalty  this  period  is  often  shortened.  An  appeal  never  postpones  execu- 
tion in  a  capital  case  by  more  than  three  weeks.  Thus,  William  Wright 
was  convicted  of  murder  at  the  London  Assizes  on  February  2,  1920;  his 
appeal  was  filed  on  February  10,  was  denied  on  February  23,  and  he  was 
hanged  on  March  10.  George  Lucas  was  convicted  of  murder  on  January 
15,  1920;  his  appeal  was  filed  on  January  17  and  was  dismissed  on  Febru- 
ary 2.  Andrew  Frasier  was  convicted  of  murder  on  February  19,  1920; 
his  appeal  was  filed  on  February  27  and  was  denied  on  March  8. 

"In  this  fashion  it  would  be  possible  to  quote  case  after  case  from  the 
records  which  the  Registrar  of  the  Court  of  Criminal  Appeal  kindly  placed 
at  the  writer's  disposal.  One  gets  the  impression  of  a  swiftly  moving,  silent 
machine— the  embodiment  of  the  certainty  of  justice  in  England."^ 


3.  How  Police  are  not  Supported  by  Prosecuting 
Attorneys  and  Courts. 

".  .  .  On  no  point  are  policemen  throughout  the  country  so  unani- 
mous as  in  their  emphatically  expressed  opinion  that  they  are  not  fairly  or 
properly  supported  by  the  prosecuting  attorneys  and  the  courts.  And  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  charge  is  not  without  considerable  substantia- 
tion. From  Massachusetts  comes  the  authenticated  story  of  the  county  at- 
torney who  on  the  last  day  of  his  term  quashed  200  cases  without  consult- 
ing the  complainant  officers.  From  the  police  in  many  other  states  there  are 
allegations,  often  with  specifications,  of  prosecuting  attorneys  conniving  at 
the  acquittal  or  inadequate  punishment  of  criminals.    Indictments  remain 


iFosdick,  Raymond  B.:  Op.  cit.,  pages  34-35;  36-37. 


THE  POLICE  FORCE 


93 


untried  and  accumulate  on  the  calendars  of  the  courts,  often  dating  back 
as  far  as  three  and  four  years,  with  the  result  that  witnesses  leave  the  juris- 
diction and  evidence  disappears.  The  abuse  and  misuse  of  the  bail  system 
are  notorious.  Cases  are  often  postponed  to  wear  out  the  patience  of  the 
police.  'There  are  instances  on  record,'  said  former  Police  Commissioner 
Woods  of  New  York,  'where  a  case  has  been  postponed  and  re-postponed 
until  the  patrolman  has  been  obliged  to  come  to  court  twenty-six  times  be- 
fore it  actually  was  called  to  trial.' 

"In  some  jurisdictions,  moreover,  it  is  not  unusual  for  committing  mag- 
istrates to  throw  cases  out  of  court  for  frivolous  and  sometimes  capricious 
reasons — because  the  officer  is  late,  or  because  his  hand-writing  on  the  com- 
plaint is  poor,  or  because  his  coat  is  unbuttoned.  Often,  too,  the  sentences 
imposed  are  absurdly  inadequate.  Dangerous  criminals  with  long  records 
are  returned  to  civil  life  after  undergoing  minimum  punishment.  Some- 
times they  escape  punishment  altogether.  Occasionally  this  is  the  work  of 
politics ;  more  often  it  is  due  to  haste  and  carelessness  or  to  a  failure  on  the 
part  of  the  magistrates  to  realize  the  true  significance  of  the  struggle  of 
society  against  crime.  'One  of  the  most  discouraging  things  about  police 
work,'  former  Commissioner  O'Meara  of  Boston  told  me,  'is  to  work  for 
weeks  and  months  getting  evidence  on  a  particular  case  only  to  have  the 
court  let  the  defendant  off  with  a  $25  fine.  Then  we  have  to  begin  our 
work  all  over  again.'  The  annual  report  of  the  General  Superintendent  of 
Police  of  Chicago  for  1910  carries  a  paragraph  equally  significant: 

"An  honest  effort  has  been  made  to  reduce  all  gambling  to  a  minimum, 
and  many  arrests  and  raids  have  been  made,  and  the  best  results  have  been 
obtained  that  were  possible  under  existing  conditions.  The  average  fine 
for  gambling  ivas  $4.20."^ 


Have  enough  examples  been  cited  to  show  you  the  way  justice  is  so 
frequently  defeated  in  this  land  of  freedom  of  ours?  What  do  you  think 
should  be  done  about  it?    What  can  be  done  about  it? 

The  story  is  not  finished,  however;  another  aspect  of  it  is  very  bad 
indeed — the  "grafting"  that  has  been  done  by  dishonest  police,  by  prosecut- 
ing attorneys,  and  by  courts  in  league  with  politicians.  In  the  section  on 
how  communities  are  governed,  examples  are  recited  that  show  how  in  times 
past  the  local  governments  of  our  cities  were  honeycombed  with  political 
"graft."  Dishonest  politicians  openly  robbed  the  great  cities  through  con- 
struction contracts  and  franchises.  Now,  in  the  same  way  the  police,  the 
attorneys,  and  the  courts  were  engaged  in  illegal  and  vicious  practices,  too. 
Here  is  a  statement  from  Colonel  Arthur  Woods,  who  was  Police  Com- 
missioner of  New  York  City: 


iFosdick,  Raymond:  Op.  cit.,  pages  S9-40;  41-42. 


94 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


"In  the  old  palmy  days  when  there  were  no  newfangled  notions  about 
this  sort  of  thing,  the  police  force  was  simply  part  of  the  political  machine. 
Other  parts  were  judges,  prosecuting  attorneys,  racetrack  men,  gamblers, 
.  .  .  saloon  keepers,  and  all  others  who  expected  to  earn  an  honest  living 
by  violating  the  law.  The  clamor  in  a  particular  case  would  have  to  be 
very  loud  and  long  sustained  for  a  member  of  the  machine  to  be  arrested 
by  his  colleague,  the  policeman,  or  prosecuted  with  any  vigor  by  his  col- 
league, the  public  attorney.  If  things  came  to  the  worst  and  the  case  were 
driven  to  judgment,  he  could  rely  upon  a  favorable  charge  to  the  jury,  and 
if  the  jury  proved  recalcitrant,  upon  certainly  as  light  a  sentence  as  could 
be  imposed.  It  was  a  powerful  machine;  it  poisoned  everything  it  came  in 
contact  with;  it  throttled  with  its  grip  of  vice  all  that  was  good  and  true 
and  sound  and  strong  in  the  community  which  might  stand  betweeen  it  and 
its  plunder.  Probably  there  is  not  much  of  this  sort  of  thing  in  its  undil- 
uted form  in  this  country  nowadays.  It  was  a  system  so  profitable  to  its 
managers,  however,  that  it  accepts  defeat  bitterly.  . 

"In  one  of  our  largest  cities,  the  story  is  told  of  a  talk  some  years  ago  be- 
tween the  police  head  and  a  political  machine  leader.  The  former  had  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  he  could  run  the  force  himself,  without  the  usual  politi- 
cal guidance.  He  was  a  strong  man,  and  was  getting  along  rather  well,  so 
well  that  the  leader  was  worried.  So  he  called  to  see  him.  The  proposi- 
tion he  put  was  roughly  this.  The  police  would  do  far  more  for  him  than 
they  would  for  their  chief.  The  chief,  therefore,  would  get  the  best  re- 
sults if  he  ran  things  through  the  leader,  who  was  ready  to  undertake  the 
job.  If  certain  places  really  had  to  be  cleaned  out,  he  would  see  that  the 
police  cleaned  them ;  if  there  'got  to  be'  too  much  'holler'  about  anything  he 
would  have  it  attended  to.  So  the  chief  needn't  bother,  and  wouldn't  have 
any  trouble.  All  he  need  do  was  make  promotions  and  transfers  as  speci- 
fied by  the  leader,  and  otherwise  keep  his  hands  ofil  .  .  . 

"...  A  few  years  ago  a  private  citizen  was  being  'shown  the  town'  in 
one  of  our  large  Western  cities.  Among  other  points  of  interest  he  was 
taken  to  a  saloon  in  the  Red  Light  District  which  had  notoriety  through- 
out the  country  as  being  kept  by  a  man  powerful  in  both  political  and  crim- 
inal circles.  As  the  visitor  stepped  up  to  the  bar  to  take  a  drink  of  good- 
fellowship  he  noticed  that  there  were  two  patrolmen  in  full  uniform  content- 
edly partaking  of  the  glass  that  inebriates. 

"Turning  to  his  guide  he  asked,  'How  in  the  world  do  these  men  dare  to 
take  a  chance  like  this,  drinking  in  a  saloon  in  full  uniform  in  sight  of  every- 
one, and  the  sergeants  around?' 

"  'Oh,'  the  guide  said,  'they're  not  taking  any  chances ;  the  cops  have 
enough  'on'  every  sergeant  in  the  city  so  that  no  sergeant  could  afford  to  get 
after  them.'  "i 


1  Woods,  Arthur:  "Policeman  and  Public,"  pages  132-134;  155. 


THE  POLICE  FORCE 


95 


These  examples  are  illustrations  of  the  large  amount  of  "grafting"  that 
was  going  on  between  the  politicians  and  the  police  in  earlier  years.  Prob- 
ably, as  Colonel  Woods  suggests,  things  are  not  so  bad  as  they  were  form- 
erly. Yet  every  few  years  in  our  larger  cities  rumors  of  more  dishonesty 
in  the  department  of  justice  crop  up,  newspaper  articles  dealing  with  them 
follow,  gossip  accumulates,  and  finally  the  legislature  or  a  commission  of  the 
City  Council  starts  an  ''investigation."  Scandal  results,  officials  are  in- 
dicted, trials  are  held;  and  occasionally  both  officials  and  politicians  are 
convicted  of  crimes  and  imprisoned.  Then  the  City  settles  back  into  a  kind 
of  routine  assurance  that  all  is  going  well  again  with  the  police  and  the 
administration  of  justice. 

In  our  larger  cities  at  least  it  appears  to  be  very  difficult  to  provide  for 
the  protection  of  citizens  and  their  property  without  dishonesty  and  ineffi- 
ciency creeping  in. 

MAKE  A  SURVEY  OF  THE  POLICE 

In  making  your  survey  of  police,  you  will  want  to  find  out  how  many 
policemen  there  are  in  your  town,  the  proportion  of  policemen  to  popula- 
tion, the  kinds  of  services  they  do,  ways  you  think  they  could  be  more  ef- 
fective. 

What  are  the  qualifications  a  man  must  have  to  become  a  policeman? 

Do  you  think  the  best  policemen  are  secured  by  the  present  method  of 
selecting  them?  Why? 

Are  there  any  women  policemen  in  your  town?  How  many?  What 
are  their  duties  and  their  services? 

Find  out  the  average  number  of  arrests  made  per  year.  How  many 
people  are  in  your  jail  or  jails  most  of  the  time?  For  what  kinds  of  offenses 
are  they  there?  What  is  the  average  length  of  time  they  remain  in  jail 
before  trial  comes  up? 

Is  your  town  a  county  seat  ?  What  does  that  mean  ?  How  many  county 
seats  are  there  in  a  state?  Is  there  a  court-house  in  your  town?  More 
than  one?    How  many  judges  are  there. 

For  what  district  unit  is  a  sheriff  appointed?  What  are  his  duties  and 
powers?    To  whom  is  he  responsible? 

Questions  for  You  to  Debate 

1.  Resolved,  That  graft  can  be  eliminated  from  the  police  force. 

2.  Resolved,  That  our  system  of  delaying  trial  is  a  criminal  offence 
against  the  prisoner. 

To  the  Teacher:  If  there  are  other  questions  you  pre- 
fer to  have  the  children  debate,  feel  free  to  substitute 
them.  Since  there  is  no  teist  for  this  section,  there  should 
be  two  debates. 


SECTION  XI 

IS  YOUR  COMMUNITY  SAFE  FROM  FIRE? 

No  matter  what  size  of  town  you  live  in,  it  surely  has  a  fire  depart- 
ment. And  your  citizens  are  proud  of  it,  are  they  not?  We  hazard  the 
guess  that  the  fire  department  is  one  of  the  city  departments  in  which  your 
community  feels  the  greatest  confidence.  Towns  and  cities  have  grown  so 
rapidly  in  the  past  75  years  that  many  departments  of  municipal  govern- 
ment have  been  open  to  severe  criticism  and  have  received  it.  In  a  later 
section  of  the  pamphlet — one  on  municipal  government — examples  of  the 
bad  management  of  dif¥erent  cities  is  shown,  but  there  is  very  little  criti- 
cism indeed  of  the  carrying  on  of  the  fire  departments. 

Modern  Communities  are  so  permanently  built 
that    they    must    be    Protected    from  Fire. 

You  see  one  thing  we  have  done  pretty  efficiently  is  protect  our  prop- 
erty, and  in  these  days  of  modern  cities  property  has  become  very  valuable. 
What  a  loss  occurs  when  a  city  block  burns  down!  And  if  one  goes,  how 
easy  it  is  for  whole  streets  and  sections  of  a  city  to  burn  up.  Cities  have 
grown  only  by  putting  buildings  closer  and  closer  and  by  erecting  them 
higher  and  higher  into  the  sky  and  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  earth.  As 
they  are  set  close  together  and  built  taller  and  deeper,  the  fire  risks  increase. 
To  offset  these  added  risks  people  have  learned  how  to  build  of  steel  and 
cement,  and  gradually  they  have  made  their  buildings  more  and  more  fire- 
proof. 

Fire  Departments  have  Become  Very 
Efficient  in  Recent  Years. 

Business  blocks,  fine  streets  with  their  shade  trees,  attractive  homes, 
costly  apartment  buildings — all  these  things  that  grow  out  of  people's  liv- 
ing closely  together — must  be  carefully  protected,  of  course.  So  men  have 
spent  much  time  and  energy  inventing  new  apparatus  and  appliances  to  put 
fires  out  quickly  and  they  have  succeeded  admirably. 

America's  Craze  for  Speed  Helps  Make  Her  Fire  Departments 
Efficient.    A  Fire  Department  Must  Work  Quickly. 

Fairbury's  fire  department  was  being  shown  to  the  city  fire  commissioner 
of  a  foreign  city.  The  visitor  first  examined  the  fire  station  and  observed 
the  motor  trucks,  spick  and  span,  ready  for  instant  service. 

"We  got  rid  of  the  last  horse  last  year,"  explained  Fairbury's  fire  chief. 
"These  automobile  engines  are  so  much  quicker.  We  have  been  able  to  do 
away  with  two  district  fire  houses  because  we  can  cover  so  much  more 
ground  with  the  trucks." 


HOW  SHALL  WE  PREVENT  FIRES 


97 


Just  then  the  gong  began  to  ring  and  the  hand  of  a  great  indicator  be- 
gan to  move.  Men  from  above  slid  down  the  long  pole  and  were  on  the 
truck  in  an  instant.  The  great  doors  swung  open;  everything  was  ready. 
The  fire  chief  motioned  hurriedly  to  his  visitor  to  get  aboard  his  private 
touring  car. 

"27,"  yelled  Mike,  the  signal  box  man. 

A  roar  and  the  truck,  ladder,  and  private  car  of  the  chief  were  out  of 
the  door  and  on  the  way  to  Box  27. 


They  were  back  in  the  chief's  office  four  hours  later  and  the  English 
visitor  was  marveling  at  the  efficiency  of  the  department. 

'What  I  am  wondering,  said  the  foreign  visitor,  "is  how  long  it  takes 
your  men  to  get  started  to  the  fire  at  night,  when  they  are  upstairs  in  bed." 

"Well,"  said  Chief  Marshall,  "we  have  a  fire  whistle  that  works  the 
indicator.  When  a  box  is  pulled  in  we  have  to  wait  until  the  number  is 
rung  around  once.  (It  rings  the  number  four  times.)  Now  a  number  like 
89  takes  longer  because  seventeen  strokes  have  to  be  rung — 8,  a  pause,  and 
then  9.  Box  12  rings  in  11  seconds.  That  is  our  quickest  alarm.  Now 
the  men  have  their  trousers  in  their  boots  beside  their  beds  when  they  sleep. 
One  motion  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  get  their  clothes  on,  a  slide  down  the 
pole,  and  their  coats  go  on  after  they  board  the  truck.  The  time  it  takes  to 
ring  Box  89  once  is  about  1  minute.  They  have  to  wait  for  Box  89  to  fin- 
ish its  ring  and  are  delayed  perhaps  10  to  20  seconds  in  starting.  Thalt 
answers  your  question.  How  long  does  it  take  you?"  asked  Chief  Marshall 
to  his  bewildered  visitor.^ 

.  "Oh,  our  rules  require  inspection.  The  men  dress,  brush  their  clothes, 
shine  their  shoes,  look  after  the  horses,  shine  the  harness,  and  the  wagon; — 
then,  the  roll  is  called,  and  then  we  start  for  the  fire." 

This  was  reported  to  be  true!    Can  you  imagine  such  a  thing? 

From  Hand  Tub  to  Motor  Fire  Truck  ; 

Think  how  much  improvement  has  been  made  in  fire  apparatus!  In 
colonial  days  all  towns  required  each  householder  to  have  a  ladder  for  use 
in  case  of  fire  and  for  the  purpose  also  of  cleaning  his  chimney  every  few 
weeks.  Each  citizen  was  a  volunteer  fireman  for  the  community;  it  was 
an  understood  duty.  When  a  fire  broke  out  each  man  took  his  fire-bucket, 
which  the  town  law  required  him  to  own,  and  joined  the  bucket  brigade  of 
fire-fighters.  Two  lines  formed  from  the  nearest  well  or  pond.  Buckets 
were  filled  with  water  and  passed  up  one  line,  the  water  thrown  on  the  fire, 
and  the  empty  buckets  handed  back  down  the  other  line  to  be  refilled  and 
started  over  again. 


1  Based  upon  the  statement  of  a  fire  chief  in  an  American  city. 


98 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Before  the  automobiles  came  into  wide  use,  cities  were  proud  of  the  work  of 
horse-drawn  fire  engines.  By  1860-70  most  cities  maintained  paid  firemen. 
  Fig.  282 


1  From  American  City,  Vol.  18,  page  15. 

2  From  Kinlon,  J.:  "Fires  and  Firefighters, 
pany,  New  York,  1913. 


page  318.    George  H.  Doran  Com- 


HOW  SHALL  WE  PREVENT  FIRES 


99 


Automobile  equipment  such  as  this  enables  our  firemen  to  get  to 
fires  very  promptly. 
Fig.  291 


While  American  City  fire  departments  have  the  record  in  speed  of  get- 
ting to  fires  and  are  unrivalled  in  putting  out  fires,  the  cities  of  other  coun- 
tries win  over  us  very  much  in  the  more  important  work  of 

PREVENTING  FIRES 


THE  GREAT  AMERICAN  BONFIRE 

Each  year  we  burn  up  over  $200,000,000  dollars  worth  of  property.  Im- 
agine a  long  avenue  with  homes  one  after  another  on  each  side  of  it,  stretch- 
ing all  the  way  from  New  York  to  Chicago.  In  one  year  we  burn  up  as 
many  homes  as  that  would  be.  In  every  fourth  house  of  this  Fire  Avenue 
you  would  also  find  some  citizen  burned  to  death.  The  cause  of  this  waste 
of  life  and  property — what  is  it?   Mostly  carelessness. 

One  third  of  this  loss  is  from  fires  that  could  be  prevented.  Probably 
75%  of  all  our  fires  could  be  prevented  if  we  were  not  so  careless  with  the 
articles  of  modern  life  that  easily  cause  fires.  If  we  adopted  also  the  rigid 
fire  inspection  of  other  countries,  thousands  of  fires  would  never  occur  and 
hundreds  of  people  would  be  saved  from  burning  to  death. 


1  From  American  City,  Vol.  18,  page  425. 


100 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


What  causes  fires?    Study  this  chart.    Isn't  carelessness 
the  chief  cause? 


What  One  City  Does  to  Prevent  Fires^ 

1916 


No.  of  inspections  made                                                        16,879  18,132 

No.  of  complaints  received  and  investigated                           1,359  1,282 

No.  of  inspections  found  defective                                          5,450  6,050 

No.  of  inspections  found  in  good  order                                 11,429  12,082 

No.  of  chimneys  repaired  or  rebuilt                                       4,277  978 

Furnace  pipes  repaired  or  rebuilt                                              366  236 

Cellars  cleaned                                                                         915  816 

Gas  leaks  reported  and  corrected                                               143  435 


1  From  "American  City,"  Vol.  18,  page  389. 
2Rig-htor,  C.  E  :  Op.  cit.,  page  116. 


HOW  SHALL  WE  PREVENT  FIRES 


101 


V^ichita. 
Kansas 

Yes 

2  times  a 
year 

No 

2  times  a 
year 

Same  as 

Cedar 

Rapids 

Fire  escapes, 
chemical 
tanks,  many 
inspections 

No 

Schools 
only 

Yes 

Chief  of 
Fire  De- 
partment 

Topeka, 
Kansas 

Yes 

2  times  a 
year 

No 

4  times  a 
year 

Same  as 

Cedar 

Rapids 

Fire  escapes, 
chemical 
tanks,  many 
inspections 

Yes 

Schools 
only 

Yes 

Fire 

Department 

Kansas  City, 
Kansas 

Yes 

2  times  a 
year 

No 

4  times  a 
year 

Same  as 

Cedar 

Rapids 

Fire  escapes, 
chemical 
tanks,  many 
inspections 

No 

Schools 
only 

Yes 

Two  fire 
inspectors 

Huntington, 
W.  Va. 

Yes 

No 

Never.  Few 
buildings 
have  them 

None 

Not  at  all 

Description, 
not  a 
diagram 

Schools 
only 

Not  required, 
but  many 
places  have 
them 

No  one 

Houston, 
Texas 

Yes 

12  times  a 
year 

No 

Except 

against  plan- 
ing mills 

12  times  a 
year 

Same  as 

Cedar 

Rapids 

Fire 
escapes 

No 

Schools 
only 

Not  required 
except  in 
schools 

Janitor  of 
school  build- 
ing 

Galveston, 
Texas 

Yes 

No 

Once  a 
year 

Same  as 

Cedar 

Rapids 

Not  at  all 

No 

Schools 
only 

No.  Some- 
times have 
them 

School 
Board 

Fort  Worth, 
Texas 

Yes,  2  times 
a  year  and 
upon  com- 
plaint 

Yes 

City  homes 

2  times  a 
year 

Same  as 

Cedar 

Rapids 

Not  at  all 

No 

Schools 
only 

No 

No  one 

Des  Moines, 
Iowa 

Yes 

No 

2  times  a 
year 

Same  as 

Cedar 

Rapids 

Fire 
escapes 

No 

Schools 
Voluntary 
with  stores 
and  factories 

No,  but  fire 
insurance 
companies 
require  them 

No  one 

rDallas, 
Texas 

Yes 

Occasion- 
ally 

No 

Occasion- 
ally 

Same  as 

Cedar 

Rapids 

Only  as 
owners 
see  fit 

No 

Schools 
only 

Yes 

No  one 

Cedar 
Rapids,  la. 

Yes 

3  times 
a  year 

■  No 

Once  a 
year 

All  walls  in 
fire  limits 
must  be  of 
stone,  brick, 
or  iron. 

Chemical 
tanks,  fire 
ascapes,  fire 
drills 

Yes 

Schools 
only 

No 

No  one 

Are  buildings 
inspected  ? 
How  often? 

Are    there  special 
laws  against  trades 
with  high  fire 
dangers  ? 

How  often  are  fire 
escapes  inspected? 

What  laws  are 
there  about  fire- 
proof buildings? 

How  are  factory 
employees  protect- 
ed against  fire? 

Do  you  keep  rec- 
ords of  fire  haz- 
ards in  factories, 
stores,  theatres,  etc. 

Are  fire  drills 
required  in  schools 
and  factories? 

Are  fire  extinguish- 
ers required? 

Who  is  responsible 
for  seeing  that  they 
are   installed  and 
kept  in  shape? 

102 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


The  table  of  page  101  tells  what  10  representative  cities  do  and  do  not 
do  to  prevent  fires.^ 

Great  Progress  Has  Been  Made. 
Much  More  Remains  to  he  Done. 

How  Efficient  is  Your  Fire  Department? 

Now  that  you  know  just  a  little  about  fire  departments  find  out  about 
the  department  in  your  own  community.  Perhaps  you  could  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  make  a  survey  and  report  to  the  class. 

Very  likely  your  class  should  take  an  excursion  to  one 
of  the  principal  fire  stations. 

Have  your  committee  arrange  for  the  visit  in  advance.  Perhaps  the 
Chief  can  take  the  time  to  explain  to  you  how  the  department  works  and 
to  show  you  all  the  different  kinds  of  apparatus  and  appliances. 

It  may  be  that  your  local  fire  officials  have  preserved  the  apparatus  used 
in  earlier  times.  If  so  you  can  get  a  fine  idea  of  the  way  modern  depart- 
ments grew  up.  Your  committee  can  also  find  books  in  your  city  library 
which  give  illustrations  of  fire-fighting  appliances  used  in  the  early  and 
middle  1800's  and  stories  of  fires.  Appoint  several  members  of  the  class  to 
report  on  that  part  of  the  work.  They  should  bring  in  for  class  use  books, 
pictures,  accounts  of  the  history  of  fire  departments,  and  stones  of  thrilling 
and  heroic  work  done  by  firemen  in  saving  lives  and  property. 

In  the  class  time  work  out  a  list  of  questions  to  guide  the 
Committee  in  making  its  Survey. 

Then  have  a  round-table  discussion  of  the  merits  and 
defects  of  the  community's  fire  protection. 

Finally,  the  class  might  prepare  a  list  of  conclusions  and 
recommendations  for  improving  the  situation  in  your 
community. 

Books  and  Magazines  from  Which  You  Can  Get  Interesting 
Information  and  Stories 

refer  back  to  the  list  of  references  in  section  V 

National  Fire  Protection  Association,  87  Milk  Street,  Boston.  Numerous  pamph- 
lets may  be  secured  from  this  association. 

United  States  Census,  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Fire  Department  of  Cities  Having 
a  Population  of  Over  30,000.  Supt.  of  Documents,  U.  S.  Census,  1918.  A 
pamphlet. 

1  From  Bruere,  H.:  "The  New  City  Government,"  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York, 
1912. 


HOW  SHALL  WE  PREVENT  FIRES 


103 


The  following  magazine  references  are  suggestive  of  the  type  of  articles 
you  will  find : 

Value   of   an    efficient   fire-fighting   organization,     American    City,  26:233-4, 
March  1922. 

Complete  momdern  fire  alarm  system.    American  City,  26:433-4,  May  1922. 
Million-dollar  fire  cracker.    American  City,  26:545-6,  June  1922. 
Lessons  from  the  Montreal  City  Hall  fire.    American  City,  27:41-2,  July  1922. 
Fire  prevention   and  fire  protection  campaigns.     American  City,  27:103-106, 
August  1922. 

Fire  regulations  undergoing  changes  in  many  cities.    American  City,  27:142, 
August  1922. 

Police  and  fire  alarm  cable  circuits  in  representative  American  cities.  American 

City,  27:117-19,  August  1922. 
Fire  record  system  of  Boise,  Idaho.    Aynerican  City,  27:206-8,  September  1922. 
Volunteer  fire  department  and  its  problems.    American  City,  27:344-5,  October 

1922. 

Maintaining  the  efficiency  of  a  volunteer  fire  department.    American  City, 

28:36-7,  January  1923. 
Smoke-chasers.   St.  Nicholas,  49:644-7,  April  1922. 

Motor  truck  vs.  horses  in  fire  fighting.   Scientific  American,  126:273,  April  1922. 
Cost  of  fires:  their  prevention  in  factories  and  homes.    World's  Work,  43:222- 
224,  December  1921. 


SECTION  XII 


HOW  DO  SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS  MAKE  PUBLIC 
OPINION  IN  YOUR  TOWN? 

Some  one  has  said  that  if  two  Americans  should  find  themselves  standing 
together  on  a  desert  island  the  first  thing  they  would  do  would  be  to 
ORGANIZE.  They  would  start  a  club  or  association  or  lodge  or  fraternity — 
an  organization  of  some  kind  and  they  would  make  themselves  charter  mem- 
bers of  it.  If  by  chance  one  of  them  proved  to  be  a  Mason,  an  Odd  Fellow,  a 
Knight  of  Columbus,  a  Red  Man,  Moose,  Elk,  or  what  not,  he  would  no 
doubt  proceed  forthwith  to  initiate  the  other  one.  If  they  both  proved  to 
be  mechanics  of  the  same  trade,  a  new  "local  labor  union"  of  that  trade 
would  be  born  then  and  there.  And  if  wireless  communication  could  be 
established  with  the  land  of  Uncle  Sam,  the  new  ''lodge"  would  promptly 
be  christened  as  the  "Desert  Island"  Local  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  so  and 
so,  the  Sandy  Isle  Local  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  or  whatever 
the  National  organization  happened  to  be! 

We  Americans  are  "Joiners,"  aren't  We? 

Probably  that's  one  of  the  finest  things  about  our  democracy.  Is  there 
any  more  healthy  sign  of  a  free  and  independent  population  than  the  organi- 
zation of  millions  of  people  into  social  groups?  Why  does  it  happen?  Why 
are  there  so  many  organizations  in  America?  Why  does  every  town  of  any 
size  have  its  Masonic  "Temple"?  its  Knights  of  Columbus?  its  I.  O.  O. 
F.?  itsB.  P.  O.  E.?  its  Kiwanis?  Rotary  Club?  Why  the  Lyceum ?  the 
Community  Forums?  the  Chautauquas?  Why  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution?  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution?  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  ?  the  American  Legion  ?  the  World  War  Veterans  ? 
We  are  "joiners"  indeed.   Why  is  it  so? 

First  and  foremost,  people  like  to  be  with  people.  We  humans  are 
"social"  beings — we  like  to  do  things  together;  we  dislike  being  alone, 
From  the  time  we  are  little  childen  we  become  attracted  toward  other  human 
beings. 

How  many  "Hermits"  are  there  in  your  community? 
Not  many,  we  venture ! 

Are  there  any  people  at  all  who  really  live  off  by  themselves — who  don't 
associate  at  all  with  others  ?  Try  to  find  out.  Now  and  then  one  hears  of  a 
person,  a  man  or  woman,  who  has  built  a  hut  in  the  woods,  or  by  a  lake,  and 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS 


105 


lives  in  it  all  alone.  Such  people  cook  their  own  meals,  and  wash  their  own 
clothes,  and  come  into  town  only  when  the  bare  necessity  for  food  or  cloth- 
ing drives  them  in.  Such  persons  are  regarded  as  very  unusual  in  America 
aren't  they?  Sometimes  people  consider  them  ''cranks"  or  "crazy."  This 
is  not  always  just,  however. 

Sometimes  people  become  so  weary  of  the  rush  and  roar  and  hurry  of 
city  life  that  they  want  to  get  away  and  live  quietly  by  themselves.  They 
enjoy  the  calm  of  the  woods,  the  songs  of  countless  birds  in  the  trees,  the 
beauty  of  shaded  lakes  and  ponds — most  of  all  they  enjoy  the  opportunity  to 
think  leisurely  about  things  of  life. 

We  can  appreciate  their  desire  to  live  away  from  things  when  we  see 
how  we  Americans  hurry  in  the  cities.  Practically  all  foreigners  who  visit 
America  say  that  the  first  thing  they  notice  about  us  is  that  we  are  always  in 
a  hurry.  One  French  visitor  said,  "You  Americans — oh,  you  hurry  so  much 
to  get  there — then  you  wait!"  Stand  on  a  street  corner  of  any  American 
city  for  a  few  minutes  and  watch  the  autos,  pedestrians,  street  cars,  elevated 
trains  go  by.  They  are  all  rushing  on  the  fast  schedule  time  to  get  some- 
where. Where?  Oh,  the  people  are  just  going  to  the  office,  or  the  factory, 
or  the  store  to  shop,  or  the  theatre,  home  to  lunch  or  to  dinner.  No  matter 
where — they  are  always  in  a  hurry.  And  the  trains  are  rushing  along  sta- 
tion after  station  to  pick  up  more  people  who  are  in  a  hurry.  Now  what 
about  these  "hermits"  who  go  off  by  themselves  to  escape  the  "hustle"  and 
confusion  of  the  city?  Well,  the  fact  is  there  aren't  many  of  them.  Most 
people  like  to  be  with  their  fellows,  not  alone  by  themselves.  And  that  big 
notion  really  helps  to  account  for  our  rapidly  growing  cities. 

But  Why  So  Many  Social  Organizations? 

To  answer  that  question,  let  us  briefly  answer  another: 
How  do  the  American  People  spend 
their  leisure  time? 

How  much  leisure  time  do  the  masses  of  our  people  have?  What  is 
their  working  day  ?  What  is  the  working  day  of  most  people  in  your  commun- 
ity? Right  in  your  class  will  be  children  of  carpenters,  masons,  plumbers, 
store-keepers,  clerks,  bookkeepers,  real  estate  salesmen.  You  will  find  all 
sorts  and  kinds  of  occupations  represented.  How  many  hours  a  day  do  the 
people  engaged  in  each  one  work?  Carpenters  8  hours  in  many  places. 
How  many  for  the  masons,  plumbers,  etc?  Do  the  clerks  in  stores  work  9 
to  10  hours?  What  about  the  locomotive  engineers?  Stenographers? 
Chauffeurs?   Make  a  table  on  the  black-board  showing  these  facts. 

Be  sure  to  include  the  length  of  the  working  day  that  your  mothers  as 
house-keepers  have.  This  is  very  important,  for  there  are  millions  of  them 
in  our  country. 


106 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


About  what  is  the  "average"  working  day  in  your  community — from  8 
in  the  morning  to  5  in  the  afternoon,  and  half  a  day  on  Saturday?  Let  us 
see,  then — how  much  leisure  time  do  the  people  have?  When  can  families 
be  together,  and  when  can  working  people  be  with  other  social  groups?  At 
breakfast  and  at  the  evening  meal  most  families  can  be  together — not  so 
many  at  the  noon  meal  because  of  the  absence  of  one  or  both  parents  at  work 
and  children  at  school.  Then  there  are  the  summer  evenings — seemingly 
longer  than  the  short  winter  ones,  especially  with  "daylight  saving  time" — 
to  give  an  added  hour  of  quiet  out-of-door.  There  are  Saturday  afternoons, 
perhaps,  and  Sundays  and  holidays  and  yearly  vacations. 

What  do  our  people  do  with  themselves  at  these  times?  How  do  they 
spend  this  out-of-door  time?  For  even  this  may  not  be  "leisure."  If  the 
parents  own  houses  they  have  odd  jobs  to  do  about  the  home,  repairs  to 
make  in  doors  and  locks  and  household  appliances.  If  the  parents  of  any  of 
the  pupils  in  the  class  are  mechanics,  those  pupils  can  tell  the  others  what 
kinds  of  work  their  fathers  have  to  do  about  the  house.  How  about  the 
women  who  work  in  the  different  trades?  During  the  few  hours  they  are 
at  home,  of  course,. some  time  has  to  be  given  to  mending  and  freshening  up 
clothing — perhaps  to  making  new  clothes,  for  most  of  our  people  do  not 
earn  enough  to  hire  others  to  do  their  laundry  and  mending.  Both  men  and 
women,  then,  have  work  to  do  at  home  in  out-of-work  hours. 

But  frequently  in  the  evenings  they  have  leisure  to  be  with  people.  That 
is  when  they  turn  to  their  lodges,  their  unions,  their  church  socials,  fratern- 
ities, and  what  not.  Then,  too,  when  the  day's  work  is  over  people  go  to  the 
Lyceum  or  the  Chautauqua ;  they  turn  to  a  political  "rally"  or  to  hear  Gren- 
fell  lecture  on  Labrador  or  Judge  Lindsey  on  "Boys."  They  go  to  the 
Firemen's  Ball,  or  to  the  meet  at  the  Seventh  Regiment  Armory,  or  to  the 
lodge  to  give  the  "third  degree." 

What  Social  Groups  are  there  in  Your  Town? 
Make  a  list  of  them. 

These  groups  play  such  a  very  important  part  in  our  community  life 
throughout  the  country  that  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  study  those  of  your 
own  town.  Very  likely  the  pupils  in  your  class  hear  enough  at  home  about 
the  different  organizations  so  that  you  will  be  able  get  together  considerable 
information  and  have  a  discussion  of  it. 

First — Prepare  a  blackboard  list  of  all  the  organizations  the  members 
of  the  class  can  suggest.  Include  in  the  list  any  kind  of  organization  you 
may  have  in  your  town  —  trade  associations,  fraternal  organizations,  lec- 
ture and  study  clubs,  church  societies,  neighborhood  clubs,  political  clubs, 
;and  others. 

Second — Divide  this  list  into  classified  lists:  (I)  Put  the  business  and 
trade  associations  into  one  list.    This  will  include  such  groups  as  Chambers 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS 


107 


of  Commerce,  business  men's  clubs,  labor  unions,  etc.  (2)  Into  another 
list  put  the  fraternal  societies  like  the  Masons,  Knights  of  Columbus,  Elks, 
Odd  Fellows,  etc.  (3)  Make  a  list  of  the  Civic  Clubs,  Improvement  soci- 
eties, boosters  clubs,  leagues  for  good  citizenship,  etc.,  and  the  like.  (4) 
Very  likely  your  town  has  local  branches  of  patriotic  societies,  organizations 
that  are  made  either  of  people  that  were  in  a  war  or  of  their  descendants. 
The  D.  A.  R.,  S.  A.  R.,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  The  American 
Legion,  the  World  War  Veterans,  the  Spanish  War  Veterans,  the  Women's 
Relief  Corps  are  examples  of  this  type  of  organization.  Work  out  a  list 
of  these.  (5)  Most  American  communities  have  charitable  and  relief  soci- 
eties whose  purpose  is  to  help  those  who  are  not  economically  independent. 
Some  are  church  affairs,  some  general  community  co-operative  groups.  Make 
your  fifth  list  complete  with  this  kind  of  organization.  (6)  Lecture  and 
study  club.  The  homes  represented  in  your  class  must  have  connections 
with  a  number  of  such  organizations.  Circulating  book  clubs  would  be 
included  in  this  list.  (7)  Neighborhood  Clubs  that  are  purely  social,  like 
card  clubs  and  dancing  clubs.  (8)  Associations  of  public  officials.  For 
example,  educational  organizations,  associations  of  mayors,  of  city  engineers, 
of  city  managers,  of  police  and  fire  officials.  Such  groups  as  these  cover  a 
wider  territory  than  your  community,  but  your  community  is  represented 
and  very  much  influenced  by  the  conventions  and  by  the  publications  issued 
by  them. 

There,  then,  are  suggestions  for  beginning  the  study  of  the  societies  and 
organizations  of  your  town.  Are  they  important?  Do  they  wield  a  large 
influence  in  the  lives  of  your  townspeople ?    How  can  you  find  out? 

One  way  is  by  studying  how  large  they  are.  How  many  people  belong 
to  them?  What  proportion  of  the  community  belong  to  them?  How  can 
you  find  that  out  ?  Well,  of  course,  for  most  of  the  secret  societies  probably 
you  cannot  find  out  the  exact  numbers.  But  you  do  not  need  to  know  ex- 
actly— a  fairly  close  estimate  will  do. 

For  example,  you  wish  to  know  the  answer  to  such  a  question 
as  this:  About  how  many  people  are  actually  doing  some- 
thing for  the  improvement  of  the  community? 

You  are  interested,  then,  to  find  out  whether  a  third  or  a  half,  or  two- 
thirds,  or  perhaps  only  a  tenth,  of  the  people  belong  to  any  organization  that 
deals  with  civic  affairs.  About  how  many  are  joined  together  to  promote  co- 
operation between  employers  and  workers  ?  About  how  many  take  an  active 
part  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  community?  You  would  like  to  know  also 
to  what  extent  people's  opinions  on  community  and  national  matters  are 
determined  by  what  they  say  and  hear  others  say  in  lodges,  Rotary  Clubs,, 
labor  unions,  card  clubs,  and  the  like. 


108 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


It  probably  would  be  worth  while  in  this  case  to  try  to  draw  up  in  class 
a  list  showing  in  rough  figures  the  numbers  of  people  in  each  of  the  various 
kinds  of  associations.  Very  likely  no  accurate  statistics  are  available.  When 
you  go  home  tonight  you  could  ask  your  parents  to  tell  you  about  how  many 
members  there  are  in  each  of  the  different  organizations  they  belong  to. 
Only  very  general  estimates  are  needed,  tell  them.  Tomorrow,  then,  com- 
pile on  the  blackboard-list  of  organizations  you  made  the  numbers  brought 
in  by  all  the  pupils  in  the  class.  Can  you  get  some  idea  from  that  of  the 
size  of  the  different  organizations  in  the  community?  Ask  your  parents 
also  how  often  they  attend  meetings  of  their  organizations  and  about  how 
many  people  they  meet  there  each  time. 

A  Still  More  Im'portant  Question  is: 
Which   of  these   Organizations   Really   Make  people 
Think  About  Important  Problems  of  Community  Life? 

As  you  grow  older  and  begin  to  help  decide  how  your  community  shall 
be  carried  on  you  will  hear  more  and  more  about  something  we  call  public 
OPINION.  In  brief,  public  opinion  is  what  people  are  thinking  and  feeling 
and  saying  about  matters  of  the  day.  It's  what  you  hear  men  say  to  each 
other  about  the  ''high  tax  rate  the  property  owners  are  paying,"  or  about 
"the  goings-on  at  the  Lake  Park,"  or  about  the  bond  issue  for  the  Fifth 
Street  Bridge,"  or  "the  abolishing  of  that  bad  grade-crossing  at  the  sta- 
tion," or  "the  settlement  of  the  machinists'  strike,"  or  "the  need  for  a  higher 
tariff,  or  "the  high  prices  of  everything  these  days,"  or  getting  "better  water 
supply,"  or  the  "town's  taking  over  the  gas  plant,"  and  so  on.  It's  what 
you  say  and  hear  on  the  street  cars,  in  the  barber  shop,  the  pool  rooms,  at 
card  parties,  at  dinings  out  with  friends,  at  the  vaudeville  or  in  "Topics  of 
the  Day"  on  the  screen,  at  the  lodge  meeting,  or  the  Church  social.  It's 
in  the  headlines  that  glare  at  you  an  inch  deep  across  full  pages  of  the  Even- 
ing Journal,  or  the  Plain-Dealer,  or  The  Globe,  or  the  Courier,  or  the  Post- 
Dispatch,  or  whatever  your  morning  and  evening  papers  may  be. 

Public  Opinion  is  a  vague,  unthought-out  sort  of  thing — it's  pretty 
largely  people's  feelings  about  matters.  Many  careful  students  of  public 
opinion  maintain  that  most  of  our  people  really  do  not  think  about  the  mat- 
ters of  the  community  and  the  nation.  They  tend  to  be  impulsive  and  ex- 
press themselves  on  any  matter  whatsoever  without  asking  for  all  the  facts 
or  really  mulling  the  facts  over  in  their  rninds.  They  tell  us  that  when  a 
strike  occurs  we  line  up  in  favor  of  strikers  if  we  are  labor  people  and  on  the 
side  of  factory  owners  if  we  are  employers.  They  tell  us  that  we  believe  in 
a  high  tariff  because  we  are  "Republicans"  and  a  low  tariff,  or  none  at  all, 
because  we  are  "Democrats."  We  are  for  things  that  favor  us  personally 
and  against  those  that  do  not.  They  tell  us  we  do  not  study  "immigration," 
"public  ownership  of  utilities,"  or  other  important  problems — that  we  have 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS 


109 


prejudices  about  those  things  and  make  up  our  opinions  without  really  hav- 
ing the  facts  and  without  thinking  the  questions  over  carefully  as  we  should. 

Sinclair  Lewis  in  his  novel  "Babbitt"  gives  an  example  of  the  loose,  im- 
pulsive way  people  have  of  making  up  their  minds  about  community  and 
national  matters. 

He  tells  how  George  F.  Babbitt,  prosperous  real-estate  man  of  the  town 
of  Zenith,  drove  his  car  away  from  his  house  in  the  suburbs  one  warm  spring 
morning  and  on  the  way  casually  exchanged  views  about  national  politics 
with  different  acquaintances  he  chanced  to  meet.  The  first  was  with  his 
next  door  neighbor,  Professor  Littlefield. 

"  *Is  that  a  fact !  Say,  old  man,  what  do  you  think  about  the  Republican 
candidate  ?  Who'll  they  nominate  for  president  ?  Don't  you  think  it's  about 
time  we  had  a  real  business  administration  ?' 

"  'In  my  opinion,  what  the  country  needs,  first  and  foremost,  is  a  good, 
sound,  business-like  conduct  of  its  affairs.  What  we  need  is — a  business 
administration!'  said  Littlefield. 

"  'I'm  glad  to  hear  you  say  that!  I  certainly  am  glad  to  hear  you  say 
that !  I  didn't  know  how  you'd  feel  about  it,  with  all  your  associations  with 
colleges  and  so  on,  and  I'm  glad  you  feel  that  way.  What  the  country  needs 
— just  at  this  present  juncture — is  neither  a  college  president  nor  a  lot  of 
monkeying  with  foreign  affairs,  but  a  good — sound — economical — business 
— administration,  that  will  give  us  a  chance  to  have  something  like  a  decent 
turnover.' 

Driving  down  town  he  found  he  must  have  "gas,"  so  he  engaged  the 
mechanic  at  the  filling  station  in  conversation.  "Politics,"  being  in  the  air 
at  the  time,  the  same  theme  came  up  as  in  the  talk  with  Professor  Little- 
field. 

"  'How  much  we  takin'  today  ?'  asked  Moon,  in  a  manner  which  com- 
bined the  independence  of  the  great  specialist,  the  friendliness  of  a  familiar 
gossip,  and  respect  for  a  man  of  weight  in  the  community,  like  George  F. 
Babbitt. 

"  Till  'er  up.' 

"'Who  you  rootin'  for  for  Republican  candidate,  Mr.  Babbitt?' 

"  'It's  too  early  to  make  any  predictions  yet.  After  all,  there's  still  a 
good  month  and  two  weeks — no,  three  weeks — ^must  be  almost  three  weeks 
— well,  there's  more  than  six  weeks  in  all  before  the  Republican  convention, 
and  I  feel  a  fellow  ought  to  keep  an  open  mind  and  give  all  the  candidates 
a  show — look  'em  all  over  and  size  'em  up,  and  then  decide  carefully.' 
•  "  'That's  a  fact,  Mr.  Babbitt.' 

"  'But  I'll  tell  you — and  my  stand  on  this  is  just  the  same  as  it  was  four 
years  ago,  and  eight  years  ago,  and  it'll  be  my  stand  four  years  from  now — 


1  Published  by  Harcourt,  Brace  &  Company,  New  York,  1922. 


110 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMltRICA 


yes,  and  eight  years  from  now!  What  I  tell  everybody,  and  it  can't  be 
too  generally  understood,  is  that  what  we  need  first,  last,  and  all  the  time  is 
a  good,  sound  business  administration !' 

"  'By  golly,  that's  right!' 

"  'How  do  those  front  tires  look  to  you?' 

"  Tine!  Fine!    Wouldn't  be  much  work  for  garages  if  everybody  looked 
after  their  car  the  way  you  do.'  " 

So  it  goes  through  the  day's  work  and  play.  Chance  remarks  dropped  on 
the  street,  the  statements  of  one  business  associate  to  another,  a  newspaper 
editorial,  or  a  signed  interview  with  a  prominent  politician,  family  gossip 
at  the  evening  meal — all  are  typical  ways  that  the  opinions  of  the  people 
of  an  American  community  are  made  up  and  passed  on.  Of  course,  the 
newspapers  have  a  good  deal  to  do  with  people's  opinions  for  we  do  tend 
to  accept  what  we  read  in  papers  as  well  as  magazines  and  books.  We'll 
study  the  newspaper  question  a  little  later. 

The  important  point  for  us  to  get  now  is  that  most  of  our  people  are  . 
NOT  THINKING  carefully  about  matters  that  concern  them  very  deeply.  They 
are  letting  their  prejudices  and  their  feelings  determine  how  they  will  act 
instead  of  using  their  minds  about  things. 

In  your  Social  Studies  work,  you  are  studying  the  facts  about 
important  matters  of  industry,  of  town  and  city  life,  of  na- 
tional and  international  affairs.    You  are  learning  how  to  use 
the  facts  to  form  sound  opinions. 

Should  not  Grown-Ups  in  the  community  do 
the  same  thing? 

Is  there  anything  more  important  for  the  older  people  of  the  community 
to  do  than  to  read  widely  and  think  carefully  about  the  serious  problems  of- 
today?  And  things  are  very  serious,  aren't  they?  Take  Europe's  smash, 
for  example,  and  what  part  we  in  America  are  going  to  play  in  it.  It's  a 
bad  tangle — one  that  it  is  very  hard  to  get  the  facts  about  and  difficult  to 
form  a  correct  judgment  on.  Yet  most  of  our  citizens  have  no  hesitation 
in  giving  an  opinion  as  to  what  is  best  to  do.  That  is  because  they  haven't 
really  thought  about  the  problem.  The  more  one  thinks  about  complicated 
things  the  less  cock-sure  of  his  first  opinions  he  is  inclined  to  be. 

So  now  see  if  you  can  find  out  what  organizations  you  have  in 
your  community  that  get  people  to  read  and  think  about  and  dis- 
cuss problems  of  the  community  and  of  America. 

Do  the  lodges  do  this?  the  fraternal  organizations?  Ask  your  parents. 
Do  the  Business  Men's  clubs — the  Rotary,  Kiwanis,  etc?  Or  are  they  just 
social  groups,  too?    Are  they  interested  as  clubs  in  anything  outside  of  busi- 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS 


111 


ness,  buying  and  selling,  costs,  prices,  manufacturing,  the  tariff?  See  if 
you  can  find  out.  In  many  cities  they  exert  a  big  influence  toward  civic 
improvement.  Read  what  a  prominent  engineer  who  was  Director  of  Pub- 
lic Works  in  Philadelphia  says  about  that  matter : 

"Such  city-wide  organizations  as  chambers  of  commerce,  city  clubs,  ro- 
tary clubs,  and  the  like,  have  unlimited  possibilities  for  helping  the  city. 
The  results  depend  almost  entirely  on  their  desires  and  their  methods.  Such 
citizen  agencies  can  accomplish  almost  anything  but  only  because  they  assume 
that  they  can — and  act  accordingly.  Elections  will  not  'just  come  out  right' 
naturally ;  there  must  be  effective  organization  to  accomplish  results.  Given 
a  properly  organized  fighting  machine,  any  bill  providing  for  a  reasonable 
civic  improvement  can  be  put  through  the  legislature  or  city  council.  The 
old  idea  was  that  you  must  wait  for  things  to  crystallize.  The  real  secret 
is  organized  action.   We  must  make  things  happen. 

"The  'Boosters'  Club'  of  Fresno,  California,  a  town  of  about  fifty  thous- 
and inhabitants,  is  continually  on  the  job  for  a  better  town.  They  not  only 
plan  but  they  organize  a  campaign  in  every  instance  that  spells  and  assures 
success.  Nothing  succeeds  like  success,  and  the  Fresno  Boosters  have  cer- 
tainly once  again  demonstrated  the  truth  of  the  old  saying.  From  a  'Clean 
City,'  a  'Visit  Your  Neighbour'  excursion  of  two  or  three  days,  a  'Public 
Christmas,'  and  a  few  dozen  other  special  activities  to  a  continual  energetic 
boosting  of  Fresno  as  a  raisin  centre,  this  club  and  its  band  make  public 
boosting  one  grand  carnival  of  successful  achievement.   .  .  . 

"Very  often  individual  business  men  filled  with  genuine  civic  spirit  are 
able  to  bring  their  city's  virtues  to  the  attention  of  those  with  whom  they 
have  business  relations  in  other  cities.  One  large  private  concern  had  the 
following  announcement  at  the  top  of  its  letterhead : 

"  'Columbia  is  an  educational  centre — and  more.  Missouri  University 
and  five  other  advanced  schools  create  a  distinct  local  atmosphere.  An  ideal 
home  enrivonment  is  the  civic  crown  of  clean,  courteous  Columbia.'  This 
particular  Columbia  happens  to  be  in  Missouri.  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that 
this  wide-awake  business  man  is  not  helping  his  own  business  more  than 
Columbia  by  this  method.  Good  customers — the  large  ones — like  to  deal 
with  human  concerns.  Everyone  who  receives  one  of  these  letterheads  im- 
mediately decides  that  the  owner  of  that  business  must  be  a  broad-minded 
citizen,  and  just  as  probably  a  thoroughly  trustworthy  man  with  whom  to 
do  business. 

"A  live  business  men's  association  usually  acts  as  an  effective  adjunct  to 
the  city's  inspection  service.  The  condition  of  the  streets,  lighting,  police 
protection,  behaviour  of  city  employees,  and  in  fact  almost  everything  in  the 
catalogue  of  municipal  activities  comes  in  for  comment  from  the  men  who 
make  the  city's  industries  and  commerce  and  trade. 


1  Cooke,  Morris  L.:  "Our  Cities  Awake,"  pages  309-310;  313-314.  Doubleday, 
Page  &  Company,  Garden  City,  New  York,  1918. 


112 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Such  examples  as  these  show  that  some  business  men's  organizations  and ' 
civic  associations  do  help  improve  their  communities.    Certain  problems  of 
that  kind  evidently  are  studied  and  worked  on. 

How  many  people  in  your  community  take  part  in  such  civic  organiza- 
tions ?    Do  the  majority  of  them  ? 

How  about  Lecture  and  Study  Clubs  to  Make  People 
Think?    Do  you  have  them  in  Your  Town? 

Are  there  lecture  or  study  clubs  in  your  town  that  try  to  think  about  the 
political,  industrial,  and  social  problems  of  the  day?  Try  to  find  out  about 
how  many  people  in  your  community  belong  to  such  groups  as  these.  Is 
the  number  a  large  proportion  of  all  the  people  in  town?  What  can  you 
think  of  that  could  be  done  to  make  more  people  thoughtful  about  our 
important  problems? 

The  Movies 

What  do  the  movies  do  to  give  people  important  facts  and 
help  them  to  think  about  them  carefully? 

A  very  large  proportion  of  all  our  people  go  to  the  movies — some  one 
or  more  times,  a  week,  some  less  frequently.  There  in  the  dark  of  the 
theatre  a  thousand  or  more  people  sit  together  reading  the  same  announce- 
ments on  the  screen  at  the  same  time.  Does  this  give  you  an  idea  of  a 
way  that  the  movies  could  be  used  to  teach  the  people  the  facts  about  their 
important  problems?  Discuss  this  in  your  class  and  try  to  think  up  a  plan 
of  using  the  movies  for  this  purpose. 

Is  there  a  community  forum  in  your  town — a  place  where 
citizens  meet  to  discuss  community  and  national  matters? 

If  so,  find  out  what  it  does — what  the  lectures  and  discussions  are  about. 
Can  any  one  stand  up  in  the  forum  meeting  and  ask  a  question  or  discuss 
something  that  has  been  said  ?  That  is  what  you  do  in  your  class — you  talk 
things  over;  you  make  points  and  argue  about  them,  don't  you?  In  that 
way  you  are  getting  practice  in  thinking  about  matters  of  importance.  Your 
class,  then,  is  an  "open-forum" — just  like  a  community  forum  should  be; 
it  is  a  place  to  exchange  ideas.  Do  you  see  how  important  it  is  that  com- 
munities have  the  kind  of  places  to  practice  thinking  about  questions  with 
an  open  mind  that  your  class-room  provides  you?  You  have  a  great  ad- 
vantage on  your  father  and  mother  in  that  respect  for  they  have  very  little 
opportunity  to  debate  about  matters  in  which  there  are  differences  of  opin- 
ion. When  people  do  not  agree  they  should  sit  down  together  and  talk 
things  out,  shouldn't  they,  particularly  when  the  matter  in  question  con- 
cerns so  many.   They  should  have  a  Forum.    But  they  must  be  sure  to  have 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS  113 

the  facts  before  them  in  order  to  decide  things  intelligently.  They  are 
bound  to  form  opinions  just  on  their  prejudices  and  impulses  if  they  do  not 
have  the  right  facts.  That,  of  course,  we  do  not  want,  opinions  arrived  at 
in  that  way  are  not  of  much  account. 


Now  as  a  result  of  all  your  readings  and  discussion  can  you  tell  what  the 
different  organizations  of  your  town  do  to  help  form  sound  opinions  about 
public  matters? 


I.  The  following  organizations  in  our  town  are  national  organizations: 


.^__J._'X-C_  ______  

.-JlU^^   MiK 


11.  The  following  organizations  in  our  town  are  local  organizations; 

 i__^_L  ;  ___^^_^___^  ; 


III.  Give  an  example  to  illustrate  the  statement  which  you  think  is  true. 

(a)  The  American  people  make  up  their  minds  about  community  and  national 
matters  after  carefully  thinking  about  all  the  facts. 

:::^':>--^J:i^^i.^'l-.>.-^-.  .  .  L 

1r^_f4r^.Ii_.LC-_^-  —  —  J. 

(b)  The  American  people  act  on  impulse  and  on  prejudices  when  deciding  on 
community  and  national  problems. 


IV.  Give  an  example  to  illustrate  the  statement  which  you  think  is  true. 
(a)    The  best  way  for  citizens  to  bring  about  changes  in  their  community  is 
to  just  wait  until  the  new  idea  is  naturally  accepted  by  everyone. 


(b)    The  best  way  for  citizens  to  bring  about  changes  in  their  community  is 
t©  organize  an  active  group  and  get  to  work  to  put  the  change  through. 

:::::::::::EEE±:::S:2S:SEES^ 

V.  Complete  the  following  statements. 

(a)  Public  opinion  is   

(b)  An  open  forum  is  ,__..  .--I^X_^:-'_-^l^___^tZt2xd^__/^^  .J 

(c)  Prejudices _  are   ^_  -------L.-V-^:  -^•-fc-----A'_L-__Jl_^.Li  •■^ 

(d)  Public  Opinion  is  formed  by   

 . —  1   (what  agencies?)  

(e)  So  many  organizations  have  been  formed  because  people  

-__.^.^_  .  „___^^ — ^_  ^.|^^  cQ.^}^ 


114 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Magazine  References  for  Supplementary  Reading  on 
Social  Organizations 

refer  back  to  the  book  list  in  section  V 

Cincinnati  Civic  and  Vocational  League.  American  City,  21:434-6,  November  1919. 
English  City  Department  does  promotional  work.  American  City,  23:69-70,  July  1920. 
How  rotary  works.    American  City,  26:599-603,  June  1922. 

Why  Mrs.  Elliott's  Civic  League  went  to  pieces  and  how  she  pulled  it  together 
again  when  she  found  out  what  was  wrong.  Ladies  Home  Journal, 
36:101,  May  1919. 

What  the  Woman's  Club  can  do  this  year.  Ladies  Home  Journal,  36:53,  October 
1919. 

Women's  Clubs  today  and  tomorrow.    Ladies'  Home  Journal,  39:27,  June  1922. 
Biggest  classroom  in  the  world.    Ladies'  Home  Journal,  39:24,  September  1922. 
Civic  sightseeing.    Re'vieiv  of  Reviews,  64:529-30,  November  1921. 
America's  club  women  in  convention.    Remeiv  of  Revieivs,  66:191-3,  August  1922. 
Civic  bodies  and  civic  progress.    Survey,  47:588-9,  January  14,1922. 

Does  the  Study  Club  in  your  community  decide  upon  its  program  of 
study  or  does  it  follow  such  suggestions  as  the  following  two  pamphlets 
provide?   Your  public  library  may  have  these. 

Stozfus,  A. :  "Group  Study  Programs  on  Social  Welfare  of  the  Community."  Uni- 
versity of  Texas,  Austin,  Texas,  1918.    A  pamphlet. 

Davidson,  C. :  "Active  Citizenship."  H.  W.  Wilson,  New  York,  1921.  A  Pamphlet, 
50c. 

The  following  are  pamphlets  you  may  be  interested  in  writing  for: 

American  City  Bureau.  "Achievements  of  Successful  Chambers  of  Commerce."  The 
American  City  Bureau,  154  Nassau  Street,  New  York,  1920.  A  pam- 
phlet. 

Evans,A.  M. :  "Women's  Rural  Organizations  and  Their  Activities."  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Supt.  of  Documents,  Washington,  D.  C. 
1918.    Pamphlet  5c. 

Should  you  wish  to  write  to  the  headquarters  of  any  of  our  national 

organizations  for  material  giving  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  organized, 

you  can  secure  the  address  from  your  local  chapters.    We  are  including  a 

few  from  which  you  could  get  such  literature. 

Freemasons.    Masonic  Publishing  Company,  Bloomington,  Illinois. 
General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs.    502  Forest  Avenue  W.,  Ypsilanti,  Michigan. 
Loyal  Order  of  Moose.    Headquarters,  Mooseheart,  Illinois. 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America.    Headquarters,  Rock  Island,  Illinois. 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star.    Eastern  Star  Dial,  227  Arcade  Building,  Utica,  New 
York. 


SECTION  XIII 


THE  NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS 

How  do  you  and  j^our  parents  find  out  what  is  going  on  in  your  com- 
munity? From  the  neighbors  on  the  street?  in  the  stores?  in  the  kinds 
of  social  organizations  we  just  talked  about?  In  the  churches?  Do  you 
depend  altogether  on  such  ways  of  learning  about  community  affairs? 

Do  the  newspapers  help  in  this  respect?  Do  you  take  a  daily  newspaper 
in  your  home?   How  many  of  them?   a  morning  paper?    an  evening  paper? 

Do  you  take  just  a  "local"  paper,  or  does  the  family  have  in  addition  a 
"metropolitan"  paper — that  is  one  of  the  "dailies"  from  the  nearest  large 
city?  If  you  live  near  New  York,  is  it  the  Times,  or  the  World,  Sun,  Globe, 
Post,  Mail,  Telegram,  that  you  take?  If  near  Boston,  is  it  the  Transcript, 
Globe,  Herald,  or  Post?  If  Chicago,  is  it  the  Tribune,  News,  Journal, 
Post?    If  Cleveland,  is  it  the  Press,  or  Plaindealer? 

Is  the  Daily  Newspaper  the  Only  Reading 
Most  Americans  Do? 

Do  you  believe  that  the  daily  newspaper  is  really  the  only  thing  that  the 
great  majority  of  Americans  read?  People  who  have  studied  that  matter 
very  carefully  maintain  that  it  is  so, — that  American  ideas  of  things,  so  far 
as  they  come  from  reading,  are  obtained  from  the  newspapers.  That  is  a 
very  important  matter  to  investigate,  isn't  it?  If  their  statements  are  cor- 
rect, it  means  that  our  newspaper  editors  should  be  very  careful  indeed  as  to 
what  they  put  into  the  papers. 

Study  the  question  in  your  own  community.    Do  people 
read  much  of  anything  beside  the  newspapers? 

Your  class  should  make  a  little  "survey"  of  this  matter  too,  since  it  is  so 
very  important.  Have  a  committee  appointed  to  direct  the  study.  Then 
the  whole  class  should  enter  into  the  work  because  it  will  take  many  people 
to  collect  the  facts  that  each  boy  and  girl  should  know  about  such  things. 
Here  are  some  suggestions  to  guide  your  committee. 

1.  Each  pupil  should  make  a  list  at  home  of  the  kinds  of  reading  matter 
read  regularly  in  his  or  her  home. 

a.  If  no  reading  is  done  day  by  day,  say  so;  this  means  no  news- 
papers, no  magazines,  no  books.  It  is  important  to  find  out  how 
many  families  do  practically  no  reading. 


116 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


b.  Bring  in  a  statement  of  the  names  of  daily  and  Sunday  papers 
that  your  family  takes  regularly. 

c.  The  names  of  weekly  magazines  which  the  family  subscribes  for 
or  buys  regularly  from  the  news-stands. 

d.  The  names  of  the  monthly  magazines  (and  bi-weeklies  and 
quarterlies)  that  are  either  subscribed  for  or  bought  regularly. 

e.  Are  library  books  taken  out  of  the  library  by  any  members  of 
your  family?  How  many  members  of  the  family  take  out  books? 
How  many  books  each  week  ?   or  each  month  ? 

f.  What  kinds  of  books  do  they  take  out?  Are  they  books  of  fic- 
tion? biography?  travel?  education?  engineering?  science? 
Get  some  representative  titles  to  tell  the  class  the  kinds  of  books 
that  are  read  by  your  family. 

g.  Are  books  bought  by  the  family?  About  how  many  each  year? 
What  kinds  of  books?   Narne  a  few  representative  ones. 

2.  Each  pupil  should  bring  into  class  all  the  facts  called  for  under  (1) 
and  make  up  a  blackboard  list  which  will  show  how  many  families  repre- 
sented by  your  class  / 

(a)  take  a  local  daily  paper  regularly. 

(b)  "  "  metropolitan  " 

(c)  "  "  Sunday 

(d)  "       weekly  magazines 

(e)  "       monthly  " 

(f)  books  from  the  public  library  regularly. 

(g)  buy  books  regularly.  ^ 

3.  Then  make  up  a  blackboard  list  to  show  the  kinds  of  books  and  maga- 
zines which  are  read. 


That  exercise  should  show  you  for  the  thirty  or  forty  families  repre- 
sented in  your  class  the  answer  to  the  question ;  Do  the  people  of  your  com- 
munity read  much  of  anything  besides  the  newspapers? 

Are  the  families  of  your  class  fairly  representative  of  the  whole  com- 
munity? Think  that  over  carefully.  Are  they  much  like  the  ^'masses"  of 
the  people? 

If  they  are  not  you  should  extend  your  study  in  some  way.  Perhaps 
from  a  class  or  two  quite  unlike  yours-^— in  another  part  of  the  city,  maybe — 
you  could  get  the  same  kinds  of  lists  of  the  reading  done  in  their  homes.  In 
that  case  you  could  compare  them  with  yours  to  see  if  the  conclusions  were 
about  the  same.  Can  you  think  of  other  ways  to  check  up  your  results  and 
see  how  representative  your  families  are  of  the  "general  public."  It  is  very 
important  in  making  a  survey  from  just  a  few  families  in  a  community  to 
be  sure  that  they  are  really  representative  of  the  whole  community. 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  OPINION 


117 


Let  us  put  the  same  question  another  way :  Do  Americans  get 
much  of  their  information  about  their  community  and  the 
world  at  large  from  newspapers? 

We  believe  it  is  fair  to  say  that  they  do.    Will  you  agree  to  that? 

If  so,  then  it  is  very  important  for  us  to  learn  what  kinds  of  things  the 
newspapers  tell  people  about.  If  your  information  about  community  and 
national  life  comes  mostly  from  the  newspapers,  what  do  the  newspapers 
talk  about?  Do  they  give  just  local  happenings — news  items  about  persons 
and  social  organizations  in  the  community?  People  are  very  much  inter- 
ested in  such  items  in  small  towns  and  medium-sized  cities — yes,  in  large 
cities  too.  In  each  of  our  great  cities,  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia, 
etc.  you  will  find  little  local  newspapers  which  tell  the  neighborhood  news 
of  the  different  districts  of  the  city.  Scores  of  such  newspapers  are  printed 
and  distributed  in  New  York  City.  People  who  live  in  a  certain  neighbor- 
hood of  "the  Bronx,"  for  example,  or  in  a  part  of  Brooklyn,  want  to  read 
about  the  little  "personal"  events  of  their  friends  and  neighbors.  So  within 
the  big  cities  you  find  these  "small-town"  newspapers. 

Here  are  some  typical  examples  of  "locals"  from  a  paper  in  a  medium- 
sized  New  England  community.  Do  they  read  like  those  in  your  local 
paper  ? 

— At  the  meeting  of  Camp  Guanica,  U.  S. 
W.  v.,  to  be  held  March  22,  the  regular  monthly 
social  will  be  held.  Supper  will  be  served  at 
7:30  and  A.  E.  Vincellette  will  give  an  illus- 
trated lecture  on  "Big  game  hunting  in  Alaska." 
At  the  last  regular  meeting  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  make  arrangements  with  Col.  Ed- 
mund Rice  camp  of  Leominster  for  a  card 
tournament. 

— These  officers  were  elected  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Everglad  club  at  its  hall,  801  Main 
street,  Tuesday  night:  President,  Hjalmar 
Hill;  vice-president,  Aina  Pera ;  treasurer, 
Henry  Fisher;  correspondmg  secretary,  Elsie 
Niemi ;  financial  secretary,  Agnes  Kempainen ; 
marshal,  Into  Jarvela;  auditors,  Helmi  Mylly- 
kangas  and  Lauri  Hannula. 

— The  annual  thank  offering  meeting  of  the 
Woman's  Missionary  society  of  the  First  Metho- 
dist church  was  held  Tuesday  afternoon  at  the 
home  of  Mrs.  W.  H.  Eaton,  15  'Cross  street, 
vice-president.  The  program  was  in  charge  of 
Mrs.  Frank  A.  Rowley,'  assisted  by  Mrs.  W.  E. 
Henry,  Mrs.  A.  P.  Lesure,  Mrs.  Walter  Scott 
and  Mrs.  William  Brazier.  Plans  were  made 
for  an  apron  and  cake  sale  Saturday  afternoon. 
Delicious  refreshments  were  served  by  the 
hostess. 

By  the  way,  have  you  noticed  in  your  newspapers  whether  the  space 
which  is  given  to  a  happening  to  a  person  depends  upon  how  well  known  he 


118 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


is?  Look  through  copies  of  your  local  paper.  What  kinds  of  people  get 
the  headlines  and  long  articles?  What  kinds  get  the  small  notices?  Which 
kinds  furnish  the  best  news  items  for  the  papers?  To  get  into  a  newspaper 
you  must  be  "news." 

What  do  Your  Newspapers  Talk  About? 

Aside  from  news  of  persons  known  either  to  large  or  small  numbers  of 
people,  what  do  the  papers  discuss? 

This  point  is  so  very  important  that  it  too  is  worth  your  personal  study. 
Make  a  ''survey"  of  it  from  both  your  local  and  metropolitan  newspapers. 
How  shall  the  survey  be  made?  Here  is  a  guide  to  help  you,  in  case  you 
have  never  studied  this  matter  before. 

1.  Each  pupil  should  bring  into  the  class  a  copy  of  some  newspaper. 
Have  as  much  variety  as  possible.  Try  to  get  30  or  40  different  issues  alto- 
gether. Be  careful  not  tp  get  them  all  for  the  same  week  or  month.  Ap- 
point some  pupils  to  get  papers  for  this  week,  some  for  last,  some  for  two 
weeks  ago,  three  weeks  ago,  four  weeks  ago,  and  so  on.  Try  to  get  some 
even  farther  back  than  that — two  or  three  months  back  if  possible.  Some 
pupils  might  go  to  a  newspaper  office  and  ask  for  some  sample  papers  of 
three,  five,  six,  eight,  or  even  ten  months  ago. 

Why  do  we  suggest  that  you  do  that?  Well,  newspapers  talk  about 
things  that  are  happening  just  at  the  time  the  papers  are  printed,  and  of 
course  events  that  happen  during  one  month  are  not  just  the  same  kind  as 
those  that  occur  in  another  month.  So  to  answer  the  question,  What  does 
a  newspaper  talk  about,  we  need  to  study  the  issues  of  several  months.  Do 
you  agree  to  this? 

Do  the  papers  talk  most  about  sensational  things,  like  murders,  suicides, 
and  accidents,  or  about  political  affairs,  like  elections  and  ''graft"?  Or  do 
they  talk  most  about  strikes  and  strike-breaking,  or  about  international  mat- 
ters like  wars  and  quarrels  of  other  countries?  How  very  important  this 
is,  for  after  all  it  is  what  the  newspapers  tell  us  that  we  know — that,  and 
not  much  else! 

Now  to  really  answer  the  question  accurately  one  would  have  to  do 
more  than  you  and  your  classmates  will  be  able  to  accomplish  in  the  time 
you  have  for  this  work.  It  would  be  necessary  to  study  very  carefully  and 
compare  precisely  the  kinds  of  material  in  the  newspapers.  You  would 
probably  have  to  measure  up  the  columns  of  your  papers  with  a  ruler  to 
find  out  how  many  inches  of  space  were  given  to  the  different  kinds  of  hap- 
penings. 

You  might  find  on  careful  measurement  that  out  of  every  hundred  inches 
of  column  in  a  newspaper  40  were  devoted  to  scandals,  murders,  accidents, 
and  the  like,  and  that  21  more  were  given  over  to  trivial  afFairs  of  the  day, 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  OPINION 


119 


leaving  only  39  per  cent  for  really  worthwhile  news.  One  prominent  edu- 
cator did  that  for  all  the  issues  of  one  New  York  City  newspaper  for  three 
full  months  and  found  just  those  percentages  of  space. 

You  can  get  considerable  notion  of  what  the  newspapers  talk  about  just 
by  studying  the  ^'headlines."  In  those  the  paper  tries  to  tell  you  in  a  suc- 
cinct way — often  in  a  startling  way — what  the  articles  are  about. 

What  do  headlines  tell? 

To  serve  as  an  illustration  of  a  study  you  can  make,  we  have  had  photo- 
graphed (Fig.  31)  the  top  strip  of  an  issue  of  each  of  two  papers.  One  is 
the  oldest  paper  (established  fifty  years  ago)  of  a  New  England  city  of 
40,000  people — in  many  ways  still  a  "small-town"  in  spite  of  its  rapidly 
growing  immigrant-industrial  population.  The  second  is  from  a  New  York 
City  paper  established  in  1901  and  regarded  as  one  of  the  solid,  substantial, 
conservative  metropolitan  papers  of  the  country.  These  issues  are  selected 
at  random  and  represent  the  two  papers  fairly  well. 

There  are  7  columns  in  the  medium-sized-city  newspaper.  Five  out  of 
seven  of  these  columns  have  headlines  dealing  with  either  law  suits  or  a 
hoax.  One  column  headline  deals  with  a  tennis  game  in  which  the  King 
of  Sweden  happened  to  be  playing,  and  one  with  the  very  important  inter- 
national events  in  the  Ruhr  coal  valley  in  western  Germany.  Would  the 
tennis  match  have  appeared  in  the  headlines  if  a  ''king," — that  is,  one  who 
happened  to  be  born  son  of  a  "king" — had  not  been  playing?  Was  he  a 
leading  player?  Why  feature  the  match  in  the  first-page  headlines?  What 
reason  do  you  think? 

Now  study  the  eight  columns  of  the  conservative  metropolitan  daily. 
Four  deal  with  matters  of  international  interest,  one  with  an  attempt  to 
prevent  the  destruction  of  a  town,  one  is  a  "news"  item  about  postal  affairs 
in  the  local  community,  one  a  "suicide,"  and  one  discusses  a  movement  to 
change  the  transportation  system  of  the  locality. 

Which  paper  uses  the  largest  type?  What  is  the  purpose  of  that  large 
type  anyway  ?  Why  should  headlines  stretch  over  two.  or  three  columns,  or 
even  clear  across  the  page?  Is  it  because  the  readers  have  eye  trouble?  Is 
it  necessary  to  have  such  "scare-heads"?    Why  do  the  editors  put  them  in? 

Of  course  if  we  chose  other  papers  we'd  find  enough  particulars  in  the 
headlines.  But  strangely  enough,  perhaps  the  tendency  in  the  case  of  one 
paper  would  be  to  play  up  in  large  type  the  sensational  things — suicides, 
scandals,  the  freakish  or  unusual,  murders,  serious  accidents,  while  in  the 
other  paper  the  headlines  would,  in  the  long  run,  continue  to  be  small,  one 
column  wide,  and  would  deal  much  more  with  serious  problems  of  the  com- 
munity, of  the  nation,  and  of  other  countries. 


120 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


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NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  OPINION 


121 


Use  these  suggestions  to  help  you  plan  a  study  of  what  your  own  news- 
papers talk  about.  One  way  to  do  it  is  to  compare  headlines  on  the  first 
page,  and  on  other  pages  too,  much  as  we  did.  Count  the  headlines  in  your 
paper  (all  pages)  and  make  a  table  on  this  order: 


1.  Murders,  accidents,  burglaries,  and  the  like. 

2.  Trivial  things  but  of  such  freakish  nature 
as  will  arouse  interest  

3.  "Locals,"  like  those  illustrated  in  this 
section.  

4.  Serious  problems  of  community  life  like 
improvement  of  water  system,  street  rail- 
way, gas  and  electric  system,  parks  and 
playgrounds,  schools,  libraries,  the  health 
of  the  community,  etc.   

5.  Problems  of  state  and  national  government. 

6.  Problems  of  International  interest  

7.  Notices  of  affairs  of  social  organizations.-. 

8.  Add  other  classes  that  your  study  shows  you 
need  to.   


Each  pupil  should  work  on  one  newspaper  and  make  a  table  something 
like  the  foregoing  one  on  the  blackboard  for  the  class. 


As  a  result  of  your  study,  what  do  your  local  papers  talk  about  most? 
What  least? 

What  do  the  metropolitan  papers  talk  about  most?    What  least? 

Is  there  any  difference  in  this  respect  between  the  different  papers?  Are 
there  differences  between  what  your  "local"  papers  (if  you  live  in  a  small- 
town or  medium-sized  city)  and  the  metropolitan  papers  discuss?  What 
are  the  chief  ones  ? 

What  Determines  What  Goes  into 
the  Newspapers? 

Do  the  editors  and  their  reporters  determine  what  goes  into  the  news- 
papers? Yes,  but  on  what  basis?  Why  put  in  the  scandals  and  prize  fights 
and  murders,  and  the  trivial  sensational  things? 

What  is  it  that  decides  the  editor  to  print  one  thing  and  not  another? 


122 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


"items  must  be  news"  in  order  to  get  printed 

This  Means  That  Papers  Print  What 
Their  Readers  Want  to  Read 

A  newspaper  cannot  live  without  readers.  It  could  not  earn  enough  to 
continue  to  do  business.  Perhaps  you  are  thinking  that  newspapers  make 
their  money  from  the  advertisements  they  print?  That's  true,  they  do  in- 
deed. If  they  depended  just  on  the  pennies  they  get  from  the  sale  of  the 
papers  they  would  be  bankrupt  in  a  short  time.  Even  a  metropolitan  news- 
paper with  a  "circulation"  of  100,000  or  half  a  million  cannot  run  just  on 
the  income  from  the  sale  of  the  papers,  two  or  three  cents  each ! 

Advertising  brings  in  the  largest  part 
of  the  newspaper's  income. 

Did  you  know  that  a  full-page  advertisement  in  a  single  issue  of  some 
of  the  great  city  papers  costs  $5,000  or  more?    It  does. 

Turn  through  your  newspapers.  Estimate  roughly  what  part  of  the 
paper  is  given  to  advertisements  and  what  part  to  news.  Perhaps  some  one 
in  the  class  will  know  how  much  it  costs  per  page,  half  page,  quarter,  eighth, 
sixteenth,  to  advertise.  If  so,  you  could  get  a  rough  idea  of  how  much  in- 
come is  taken  in  by  the  owners  in  advertising  alone.  Perhaps  too,  you  can 
compare  that  with  the  income  taken  in  from  the  sale  of  the  papers.  (You 
would  have  to  find  out  the  circulation ;  it  is  printed  on  many  metropolitart 
newspapers. ) 

Now  the  more  people  that  read  a  paper,  the  easier  it  is  to  get  advertise- 
ments.   (Do  you  see  how  this  would  be  true?    Explain  it.) 

The  greater  the  number  of  advertisements  the  greater  the  income.  So- 
you  see  the  income  of  the  newspaper  does  depend  on  the  readers,  don't  you?* 

That  means  that  the  editor  feels  he  must  give  readers  what  they  can 
understand  and,  more  important  still,  what  they  enjoy.  Several  prominent 
men  have  written  on  this  question.  Here  is  what  Mr.  Hadley,  former 
President  of  Yale,  said  about  it : 

"If  we  are  to  have  responsible  newspapers,  the  reform  must  begin  with 
the  readers  themselves.  Most  of  the  men  who  edit  newspapers  will  give 
the  people  the  kind  of  newspapers  they  want.  There  will,  of  course,  be  ex- 
ceptionally good  editors  who  will  make  their  papers  better  than  their  readers 
demand,  and  try  to  educate  the  people  up  to  a  higher  level;  just  as  there 
will  be  exceptionally  bad  editors,  who  will  make  papers  worse  than  the 
readers  want,  and  be  the  instruments,  whether  they  try  to  or  not,  of  edu- 
cating the  public  down  to  a  lower  level.  But  the  average  editor  will  work: 
for  the  average  reader.  He  cannot  be  any  more  independent  of  the  man- 
who  buys  his  goods  than  the  manufacturer  or  merchant  can  be.  A  manu- 
facturer who  refuses  to  produce  things  that  the  people  want,  because  he 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  OPINION 


123 


thinks  they  ought  to  want  something  better,  will  be  driven  out  of  business, 
and  so  will  a  newspaper  editor.  People  sometimes  talk  of  'yellow  journal- 
ism' as  if  the  editors  of  the  yellow  journals  were  solely  responsible  for  their 
existence.  They  are  responsible  to  some  degree ;  but  to  a  still  larger  degree 
the  responsibility  lies  with  the  public  that  will  buy  and  read  their  news." 

Consider  again  the  headhnes  we  quoted  and  the  ones  you  have  studied 
from  your  newspapers.  Why  did  some  emphasize  sensations  and  others  more 
serious  "problem"  sorts  of  things?  Were  the  kinds  of  readers  who  read  and 
enjoyed  the  "sensational"  papers  the  same  as  those  who  enjoyed  the  more 
serious  papers?  If  they  had  both  been  printed  in  the  same  city— and  they 
well  might  have  been — would  the  same  people  have  been  appealed  to  by 
the  two  papers?  Do  you  often  see  one  person  in  a  city  reading  "yellow" 
sensational  papers  and  the  more  serious  type  as  well  ?  How  do  you  account 
ior  that? 

Which  Kinds  of  Newspapers  Have  the 
Largest  Circulation? 

Perhaps  you  can  get  an  accurate  answer  to  that  question.  Many  of  the 
papers  print  their  circulation  in  some  conspicuous  place — they  are  so  proud 
of  it.  All  of  them  have  to  publish  their  circulation  once  a  year,  as  the  Fed- 
eral laws  require  it. 

In  case  you  cannot  get  accurate  statistics,  you  can  be  sure  that  the  "sen- 
sational" papers  have  many  times  the  circulation  of  the  others — at  least  in 
our  large  cities.  That  is  not  difficult  to  understand,  is  it?  Knowing  that 
they  give  more  space  to  startling  things  and  that  the  vast  proportion  of  our 
people  like  that  sort  of  "news,"  we  can  understand  why  the  editors  give  it 
to  them  and  why  their  newspapers  prosper.  They  prosper,  sure  enough,  for 
as  their  circulation  increases,  their  advertising  increases.  That  increases 
the  size  of  the  paper  and  brings  in  more  money.  The  circulation  increases 
still  more,  and  brings  more  advertising,  and  of  course  more  money. 

Many  people  have  come  to  call  such  newspapers  "yellow"  because  they 
'do  not  print  the  wholesome,  serious  news ;  instead  they  play  upon  the  baser 
•emotions  of  our  people, — so  it  is  maintained. 

Do  not  forget  that  in  the  long  run  the  "reading  public" 
determines  the  kind  of  news  that  the  newspapers  print. 

If  the  citizens  of  your  community  really  want  better  newspapers  they 
can  get  them  by  refusing  to  buy  any  that  are  below  standard.  So  say  stu- 
dents of  the  problem.  How  do  you  think  such  a  procedure  would  work 
•out  in  your  community? 


124 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Criticisms  That  Have  Been  Made 

OF  THE  newspapers 

The  newspapers  of  large  cities  have  been  very  severely  criticized  during 
the  past  fifty  years.  As  cities  have  grown  larger  and  larger  the  newspapers 
have  increased  in  size  too.  With  that  increase  has  come  great  power.  Since 
such  a  large  proportion  of  our  people  read  nothing  but  newspapers,  you  can 
see  what  a  great  influence  they  exert  in  helping  us  to  make  our  opinions. 

Most  people  are  not  well  enough  educated  to  be  fully  informed  on  mat- 
ters of  citizenship,  foreign  affairs,  etc.  They  constantly  have  to  be  given 
new  facts  with  which  to  form  opinions.  It  probably  is  true  also  that  most 
of  our  people  have  not  practised  enough  in  thinking  over  problems  of  citi- 
zenship so  that  they  can  make  up  their  minds  from  the  facts  themselves. 
They  are  inclined  to  take  their  opinions  ready-made  from  others;  it  is  the 
easiest  way.  Opinions,  we  fear,  are  passed  on  from  person  to  person  in 
such  fashion  rather  than  worked  out  independently  by  each  of  our  citizens. 
If  this  is  true — and  most  students  of  the  matter  agree  that  it  is — 

What  an  Influence  the  Newspapers 
have  in  Forming  People's  Opinions! 

You  can  discover  evidence  on  this  question  by  just  sounding  people  out 
on  what  they  think  after  reading  certain  newspaper  articles.  Articles  which 
are  partial  to  one  side  in  a  controversy  will  in  the  long  run  make  people  who 
don't  have  strong  prejudices  on  the  subject  think  their  way.  Of  course  it 
is  very  important  to  remember  that  most  of  us  do  have  prejudices  about  many 
things,  and  that  when  we  read  articles  on  those  subjects  we  are  apt  to  use 
the  facts  given  to  strengthen  our  established  beliefs. 

Since  the  newspapers  have  come  to  have  so  complete  a  monopoly  on  the 
purveyance  of  information  about  public  affairs,  many  people  have  been 
and  now  are  very  suspicious  of  them.  Let  us  study  some  of  the  charges 
against  them  and  see  if  we  can  really  understand  the  situation. 

Some  people  Charge  that  Newspapers 
Suppress  the  News. 

.  .  There  has  been  in  a  few  cities  a  suppression  of  news  because  of 
fear  of  advertisers,  but  it  has  always  been  fraught  with  great  danger  to  the 
local  press.  Mr.  Villard  [formerly  of  the  New  York  Evening  Post]  has 
admitted  that  the  press  of  Philadelphia  'has  never  recovered  from  the  blow 
to  its  prestige  when  it  actually  refused  to  tell  the  story  of  a  crime  of  the 
member  of  one  of  the  large  drygoods  houses.'  Yet  this  omission  proved  the 
impossibility  of  suppressing  news,  for  the  story  appeared  in  New  York  papers 
which  sold  rapidly  in  the  streets  of  Philadelphia.  The  story  was  taken  up 
and  told  all  over  the  country  through  the  pages  of  the  monthly  magazines 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  OPINION 


125 


and  the  literary  weeklies.  The  suppression  of  the  news  did  more  harm  to 
innocent  members  of  the  firm  than  had  the  Philadelphia  papers  given  a 
whole  edition  to  the  story  of  the  crime.  The  publicity  given  this  incident 
would  indicate  that  such  suppressions  are  rare. 

"A  controversy  arose  later  between  this  same  mercantile  establishment 
and  the  city  of  Philadelphia  over  the  question  of  fire  prevention  appliances, 
etc.,  required  by  city  ordinances :  it  came  from  a  movement  started  by  the 
Alumnae  Committee  of  Bryn  Mawr  College  which  was  studying  fire  pre- 
vention in  factories,  shops,  and  stores  where  women  and  girls  were  employed. 
The  Bryn  Mawr  Committee  once  complained  that  it  had  wrestled  in  vain 
with  the  Philadelphia  papers  to  take  the  matter  up  and  that  the  local  press 
had  refused  to  mention  the  store  save  in  the  way  of  kindness.  The  press 
of  Philadelphia  again  received  rebuke  at  the  hands  of  publications  of  national 
circulation.  In  commenting  on  the  accident.  The  Outlook,  of  New  York 
City,  called  attention  to  the  serious  social  danger  from  the  muzzling  of  the 
newspaper  by  powerful  advertisers.  ... 

"Yet  Philadelphia,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  furnishes  tht  honest  and 
conscientious  editor  with  positive  proof  that  readers  will  not  stand  any 
interference  on  the  part  of  the  advertiser  in  an  attempt  to  control  editorial 
policies.  During  the  heat  of  the  Presidential  Campaign  of  1912,  the  page 
advertisement  of  a  department  store,  a  rival  of  the  one  to  which  reference 
has  just  been  made,  was  withdrawn  one  Friday  night  from  a  Philadelphia 
newspaper.  No  intimation  had  previously  reached  its  editor  that  such  a 
step  was  contemplated  and  the  action  was  unaccompanied  either  by  word 
or  letter  to  throw  light  upon  the  subject.  Advertising  solicitors  were  in- 
structed to  make  no  inquiry  as  to  the  cause  of  the  discontinuance  of  the 
advertisement.  The  editor  instructed  the  staff  to  make  no  explanations  or 
comments  about  the  matter.  He  then  left  for  his  old  home  to  visit  his 
mother.  He  was  absent  about  a  week.  Upon  his  return  he  was  notified  that 
the  page  advertisement  would  be  resumed  the  following  Monday. 

"The  absence  of  the  page  for  a  whole  week  not  only  attracted  much 
attention,  but  caused  much  comment.  Readers  of  the  paper  thought  that 
they  saw  in  the  absence  of  the  advertisement  an  act  of  reprisal  against  the 
paper  on  account  of  its  editorial  attitude  on  national  politics.  Subscribers 
put  their  own  interpretation  on  the  disappearance  of  the  advertising  and 
inferred  that  the  paper  had  been  threatened  with  a  loss  of  advertising  unless 
its  editorial  policy  on  politics  was  modified.  Letters  and  telegrams  of  pro- 
test in  large  numbers  poured  in  upon  the  owner  of  the  department  store. 
Their  writers  threatened  to  refuse  to  trade  at  the  store  unless  the  advertis- 
ing was  returned  to  the  newspaper.  The  advertising  was  sent  back  without 
any  condition  suggested  or  implied.    The  editorial  policy  of  the  paper  was 


126 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFJi  IN  AMKRICA 


not  changed  one  iota,  although  it  may  have  seemed  to  the  public  that  it 
was  a  little  more  vigorous  than  ever  before."' 

So  you  see  that  while  the  first  quotation  showed  how  newspapers  tried 
to  suppress  news,  the  second  one  shows  a  case  where  a  newspaper  honestly 
stands  up  for  its  own  views,  irrespective  of  what  the  department  stores  do. 

The  next  quotations  illustrate  another  angle  of  the  matter: 

"Not  long  ago  the  owner  of  a  large  department  store  failed  in  business. 
There  w  as  a  pretty  well  founded  rumor  that  conditions  had  not  been  just 
right  at  his  store  for  some  time.  Because  the  New  York  papers  did  not  give 
any  publicity  to  the  matter  till  the  failure  was  a  legal  fact,  they  were  ac- 
cused of  suppressing  the  news  because  of  the  advertising  revenue  derived 
from  the  store.  Such  critics  overlooked  the  fact  that  such  publication  might 
have  made  the  newspapers  financially  responsible  for  the  failure.  During 
the  panic  of  1907  a  New  York  newspaper  printed  a  story  that  a  certain 
business  establishment,  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy.  It  was,  and  later 
failed.  The  owners  brought  suit  against  the  newspapers  and  collected  heavy 
damages  on  the  ground  that  the  failure  had  been  caused  by  the  publication 
♦  of  the  item.  Courts,  as  Whitelaw  Reid,  of  The  New  York  Tribune,  pointed 
out  in  his  lecture  on  'Journalism'  at  Yale  University,  have  been  rather  harsh 
on  newspapers  for  publishing  items  of  this  character  and  newspapers  cannot 
be  blamed  for  the  use  of  ordinary  common  sense  in  such  matters.  .  .  . 

**In  another  city  conditions  were  quite  like  those  in  Boston,  only  there 
had  been  several  similar  incidents,  though  less  disastrous  in  results.  A 
large  store  had  moved  farther  uptown  and  with  its  larger  quarters  it  had 
been  forced  to  employ  green  detectives  who  frequently  made  errors.  In  fact, 
they  made  so  many  blunders  that  managers  of  other  department  stores  went 
to  the  press  with  the  request  for  publicity  in  order  that  the  evil  might  be 
corrected.  One  newspaper  publisher  told  the  representatives  from  the 
stores,  'You  can't  get  publicity  for  such  stuf¥  in  my  paper,  even  if  all  of 
you  withdraw  your  advertising.'    He  w^as  quite  right. 

This  makes  it  clear  that  newspapers  have  suppressed  the  news.  Some- 
times it  has  been  done  improperly  and  the  papers  should  be  called  to  account 
for  it.  On  the  other  hand,  the  papers  have  probably  just  as  often  had  per- 
fectly good  and  justifiable  reasons  for  not  printing  the  news  which  they 
withheld. 

Department  stores  do  the  heaviest  advertising 
in     the     metropolitan  newspapers. 

What  do  these  advertisers  think  of  the  newspapers. 

"...  A  little  investigation  shows  that  department  stores  feel  that  they 
have  not  been  treated  squarely  by  newspapers.    They  assert  that  a  man 

1  Lee,    James    M. :    "History    of   American    Journalism,"    pages    431;  432-433. 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston,  1917. 
-L.ee,  James  M. :  Op.  cit.,  pages  435;  4  36. 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  OPINION 


127 


cannot  have  a  harmless  fit  in  their  buildings  without  some  account  getting 
into  the  newspapers,  while  he  may  have  as  many  fits  as  he  chooses  in  a 
smaller  store  without  a  single  line  in  the  newspapers  to  record  the  fact. 
Department  stores  maintain  that  every  time  their  delivery  wagons  have  an 
accident  the  fact  is  made  known  in  the  press  with  the  name  of  the  store  to 
which  the  wagon  belonged  printed  conspicuously  in  the  account,  while  horses 
attached  to  wagons  of  smaller  stores  may  run  away  and  do  considerable 
damage  with  newspaper  readers  none  the  wiser  about  the  event.  Depart- 
ment stores  feel  that  the  newspapers  might  render  a  little  editorial  assistance 
in  matters  of  public  convenience  and  public  safety  such  as  a  bridge  joining 
two  buildings  occupied  by  the  same  store:  they  assert  that  the  newspapers 
are  unwilling  to  endorse  such  enterprises  lest  the  charge  be  brought  against 
them  of  being  influenced  by  advertising.  Almost  every  department  store 
has  its  tale  of  woe  about  the  lack  of  co-operation  from  newspapers  in  an- 
nouncing the  welfare  movements  started  among  employees.  On  the  whole, 
department  stores  present  just  as  strong  a  case  against  the  newspapers  as 
do  the  critics.  Did  not  this  condition  obtain,  there  would  be  more  reason 
to  suspect  truth  in  the  charge  that  advertising  possibly  influences  the  news  ^ 
and  editorial  columns."^ 

What  the  newspaper  managers  say  about  the  control 
of  papers  by  advertisers 

Don  C.  Seitz,  business  manager  of  the  New  York  World  says  this  i 
''I  have  been  for  twenty  years  in  the  business  office  of  The  New  York 
World  and  I  do  not  recall  a  half-dozen  attempts  on  the  part  of  advertisers 
to  influence  it,  and  of  these  attempts  only  one  was  a  matter  of  public  con- 
cern about  which  there  were  two  very  fair  opinions.  We  did  not  accept 
the  advertiser's  view.  It  is  some  five  years  since  I  have  had  an  advertiser 
ask  me  to  do  anything,  even  in  his  personal  interest,  unless  perhaps  to  print 
a  wedding  notice,  or  the  mention  of  some  social  af¥air,  and  in  this  I  rather 
think  the  editors  treated  him  more  shabbily  than  if  it  had  been  some  one 
else.  Good  editors  are  not  interfered  with  on  great  newspapers.  If  they 
were,  there  would  be  neither  good  editors  nor  great  newspapers." 

Examples  of  Business  Men  Trying  to 
Dictate  Policies  of  Newspapers 

.  .  When  Bryan  was  nominated  for  President  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  in  1896,  there  was  great  consternation  among  bankers  lest  his  election 
should  disrupt  existing  monetary  standards  and  ruin  the  country.  While 
there  was  no  concerted  action,  independent  bankers  holding  notes  of  news- 
papers did  have  several  heart  to  heart  talks  with  editors  and  proprietors 

^Lee,  James  M.:  Op.  cit.,  pages  487-438. 


128 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


and  threatened  to  demand  immediate  payment  of  financial  obligations  if 
Bryan  was  supported.  Be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  editors  who  conscientiously 
believed  in  the  silver  standard  that  they  told  bankers  'where  to  get  off,'  that 
editorial  policies  were  not  subject  to  mortgage  or  demand  notes  and  that 
they  would  welcome  the  issue  if  it  were  presented.  They  said  that  they 
would  publish  the  facts  in  the  case  for  their  readers  and  were  positive  that 
they  could  raise  enough  money  through  popular  subscription  to  continue 
publication.  In  other  instances  editors  informed  bankers  that  a  suit  to  col- 
lect notes  might  cause  a  reduction  in  the  size  of  their  newspapers,  but  they 
had  funds  enough  to  print  handbills  stating  the  reason  for  change  in  form. 
No  such  drastic  action,  however,  was  necessary,  as  bankers  soon  saw  that  the 
chief  asset  of  a  newspaper  was  its  independence."^ 

A  very  interesting  illustration  of  the  honesty  and  independence  of  cer- 
tain newspapers  is  given  in  the  next  quotation : 

''A  large  advertiser  in  a  certain  metropolitan  daily  did  withdraw  his 
advertising  because  the  paper  supported  Bryan  in  his  presidential  aspirations, 
but  later,  on  finding  that  he  was  losing  business  on  account  of  the  absence 
of  this  advertising,  he  tried  to  have  it  inserted  again.  The  newspaper  in- 
formed him  very  plainly  in  w^ords  to  the  following  effect:  'You  have  tried 
to  dictate  to  this  paper  through  a  threat  of  withdrawal  of  advertising.  You 
need  to  be  taught  a  lesson.  You  are  now  out,  and  out  you  stay  for  one  year, 
that  the  lesson  may  be  forcibly  impressed  upon  your  memory.'  Not  until 
the  year  was  up  was  he  allowed  to  resume  advertising.^' 

Other  Ways  Besides  Newspapers  Through  Which  Citizens 
Find  Out  About  Community  Affairs 

As  cities  grow  larger  and  larger,  more  and  more  difficult  does  it  be- 
come for  a  citizen  to  grasp  the  problems  of  the  community  about  which  he 
ought  to  have  an  opinion.  He  has  to  choose  men  and  women  to  "represent" 
him  in  the  "city-council"  or  the  "commission;"  he  has  to  help  select  a  mayor, 
a  school  board,  and  other  officials.  He  must  make  up  his  mind  whether  he 
wants  to  have  the  city  issue  another  million  dollars'  worth  of  bonds  to  build 
a  new  high  school,  or  whether  "Fairview  Park"  shall  be  enlarged  and  so  on. 
When  the  town  is  a  little  compact  community  everybody  knows  everybody 
else  and  a  good  deal  about  the  community  problems  that  come  up.  But  in 
the  big  city,  both  people  and  "problems"  are  lost.  Everything  becomes  im- 
personal and  people  become  indifferent.  The  greatest  problem  of  the  public 
official  is  how  to  educate  his  community  to  what  the  needs  of  the  community 
really  are.    How  shall  he  do  it? 


1  Lee,  James  M. :  Op.  cit.,  page  439. 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  OPINION 


129 


The  Annual  Reports  of  city  officials  are  generally  huge 
uninteresting  volumes  which  no  citizen  reads. 

Have  a  committee  of  your  class  go  to  the  city  hall  and  get  copies  of  the 
official  reports,  say  the  mayor's  report,  the  report  of  the  city  engineer  or 
"public  works"  department,  of  the  department  of  streets,  of  the  city  treas- 
urer, comptroller.  Board  of  Education.  Then  each  one  of  your  class  mem- 
bers should  look  through  them. 

What  do  you  make  of  them  ?  Can  you  read  their  pages  of  statistics  and 
description  with  any  enthusiasm?  Do  you  think  citizens  read  these  in  their 
homes  in  the  leisure  hours  of  the  evening,  to  make  up  their  minds  about  im- 
portant community  matters? 

Can  you  find  out  from  these  Annual  Reports  what  is  really  needed  in 
your  town  in  the  way  of  community  improvement  ?  Can  you  discover  what 
the  problems  of  taxation  are  in  your  community?  Can  you  discover  what 
ought  to  be  done  to  save  money  on  water  or  what  ought  to  be  done  about 
street  railways,  or  gas  and  electric  light  companies? 

Here  are  some  examples  of  city  reports  that  are  made  more  interesting 
and  written  in  a  readable  way  for  the  citizens  of  a  community.  For  example, 
would  you  not  be  impelled  to  look  into  a  report  which  had  a  foreword  like 
this?i 

DEAR  READER 

Please  forget  that  this  is  a  public  doc- 
ument. Read  it  rather  as  a  study  in 
home-making— as  the  record  of  one  year 
of  effort  to  make  of  Philadelphia  the  best 
place  in  all  the  world  in  which  to  live. 
This  report  of  the  Director  of  Public 
Works  to  the  Mayor  of  the  city  is  really 
a  story  of  the  stewardship  of  4,000  city 
employees  working  for  the  other  1, 600, 000 

citizens. 

MORRIS  LLEWELLYN  COOKE, 

DIRECTOR. 

P.  S. — At  least  look  at  the  pictures. 

M.  L.  C. 

 — 'i 

1  Cooke,  Morris  L. :  "Our  Cities  Awake,"  page  205.  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co., 
Garden  City,  1918. 


130 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Educating  the  Public  with  Pamphlets 

The  more  intelligent  and  progressive  city  departments  are  now  issuing 
little  pamphlets,  each  of  which  discusses  a  particular  problem.  In  this  way 
they  are  trying  to  teach  citizens  in  large  cities  about  the  matters  that  vitally 
concern  them.  Here  is  a  foreword  from  a  pamphlet  on  "Real  Estate  and  Its 
Taxation  in  Philadelphia"  made  by  an  engineer,  Morris  L.  Cooke,  that 
tells  how  important  and  how  difficult  it  is  to  tell  citizens  about  such  matters. 

"The  subject  of  this  pamphlet  is  of  vital  importance  to  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  Philadelphia.  It  matters  little  whether  the  particular 
suggestions  set  forth  in  the  following  pages  are  wise  or  unwise.  The  urgent 
matter  is  that  taxpayers,  real  estate  men,  builders,  members  of  building  and 
loan  associations,  and  indeed,  all  thoughtful  citizens,  should  familiarize 
themselves  with  this  subject ;  look  into  it  carefully,  each  from  his  own  point 
of  view  and  discuss  it  in  public  and  private.  If  this  is  done,  a  proper  solution 
of  our  present  difficulties  will  soon  be  forthcoming.  To  aid  in  such  intelli- 
gent study  and  discussion,  I  gladly  take  the  opportunity  of  giving  publicity 
to  what  I  know  to  be  a  careful,  conscientious,  and  informing  study  of  meth- 
ods of  assessing  real  estate  for  purposes  of  taxation."^ 

TEST 

Write  a  T  before  all  statements  that  are  true  and  an  F  before  all  state- 
ments that  are  false. 

~\~\.  The  newspaper  in  a  democracy  is  an  important  agency  because  it  influences 

public  opinion  in  so  tremendous  a  way. 
W.'The  great  majority  of  people  of  America  do  not  read  the  yellow  journals. 
(   3.  If  we  wish  to  be  well  informed  on  the  questions  of  the  day,  we  should  read  the 

"better"  weeklies,  monthly  magazines  and  newspapers  which  give  the  most  space 

to  community,  national  and  international  problems. 

4.  One  of  the  chief  sources  of  income  for  the  newspapers  is  from  advertisements. 

5.  The  small  village  papers  of  America  give  a  large  amount  of  space  to  national 
and  international  problems. 

6.  The  American's  ideas  of  things,  so  far  as  they  come  from  reading,  are  obtained 
from  the  newspapers. 

\     T  7.  One  job  of  our  public  officials  is  to  educate  the  community  to  see  what  the  needs 

\.          of  the  community  really  are. 

The  department  stores  have  in  the  past  influenced  the  papers. 
Each  citizen  thinks  over  the  facts  he  has  on  a  question  and  then  forms  his  opinion. 
^    10.  The  department  stores  are  the  heaviest  advertisers  in  the  newspapers. 

11.  The  circulation  of  a  newspaper  is  not  an  important  source  of  income  for  that 
paper. 

12.  There  have  been  cases  where  the  newspapers  have  suppressed  the  news. 

13.  Most  of  us  accept  opinions  ready-made  from  other  people  or  from  what  we  read. 

14.  The  only  method  of  improving  the  newspapers  of  America  is  for  the  heavy 
advertisers  to  patronize  only  the  "better"  papers. 

1^  15.  In  our  newspapers,  the  most  space  is  given  to  a  discussion  of  community  problems. 
16.  The  kind  of  news  printed  in  the  newspapers,  is  the  news  the  readers  like  to  read. 
1  Cooke,  Morris  L. :  Op.  cit.,  page  206. 


/ 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  PUBLIC  OPINION 


131 


f   17.  In  our  newspapers,  the  least  amount  of  space  is  given  to  personal  news  of  the 
community. 

18.  The  newspapers  with  the  widest  circulation  get  the  most  advertising. 
>— ^C:^  19.  Newspaper  editors  have  found  it  good  business  to  print  only  such  news  as  their 
advertisers  want  them  to  print. 
20.  The  newspaper  in  a  democracy  is  an  important  agency  because  it  keeps  the 
^        public  informed  concerning  foreign  affairs. 

'  21.  One  method  of  improving  the  newspapers  of  America  is  for  the  public  to  refuse 
to  buy  the  "yellow"  journals. 

22.  A  large  percent  of  Americans  read  little  aside  from  the  newspapers. 

23.  The  newspaper  in  a  democracy  is  an  important  agency  because  it  keeps  the  public 
informed  on  the  personal  happenings  of  the  community. 

1-24.  The  "yellow"  journals  give  a  great  amount  of  space  to  community,  national  and 


international  problems. 


SECTION  XIV 


WHAT  KIND  OF  CITIZENS  WILL  YOUR 
SCHOOLS  MAKE? 

For  six  years,  perhaps  longer,  you  have  been  going  to  school — five  days 
in  the  w^eek  from  half  past  eight  or  nine  in  the  morning  until  three-thirty 
or  four  in  the  afternoon.  For  nine  of  ten  months  of  the  year  you  have  been 
in  the  charge  of  the  government — either  that  of  your  local  community  or 
of  the  state  or  the  nation.  You  have  learned  to  read  fairly  w^ell,  to  w^rite 
so  that  people  can  read  what  you  write,  to  spell  certain  words  that  you  need 
to  use  in  writing,  and  to  add,  subtract,  multiply,  and  divide  with  whole  num- 
bers and  with  fractions.  Probably  you  have  had  a  chance  to  read  stories 
about  the  history  of  America  and  to  study  a  bit  the  geography  of  your  own 
country  and  of  other  lands.  Perhaps  you  have  learned  to  draw  simple 
things,  to  use  the  common  carpenter  tools  in  the  workshop.  You  may  have 
studied  something  about  the  birds  and  flowers  and  trees  and  the  out-of-door 
world. 

Now  how  has  this  been  done,  alone  or  with  class-mates? 

How  many  pupils  are  there  in  your  room  ? 

Thirty,  forty,  fifty  perhaps?  Or  do  you  have  the  good  fortune  to  live 
in  a  community  where  the  people  believe  in  spending  a  great  deal  of  money 
on  the  education  of  their  children  and  so  provide  teachers  enough  to  have 
very  small  classes,  of  say  fifteen  or  twenty  pupils? 

Has  any  one  in  the  class  ever  been  in  a  school  where  each  class  has  only 
about  15  pupils?  Find  out  in  what  kind  of  school  it  was.  A  public  school? 
If  so,  it  was  a  very  unusual  one  indeed  for  most  of  the  classes  in  public  ele- 
mentary schools  have  thirty  or  more  pupils  in  each  one.  The  average  size 
of  such  classes  for  the  twenty  million  pupils  in  American  schools  is  35 ! 
Think  over  what  that  means.  What  do  we  mean  by  an  "average"  of  35? 
We  mean  that  about  half  of  the  thousands  of  classes  have  more  than  thirty- 
five  and  half  have  less  than  35.  Remember  that  way  of  telling  what  an 
"average"  means.  But  while  the  average  size  is  35,  there  are  hardly  any 
classes  in  city  schools  smaller  than  25. 

Is  it  important  to  keep  the  number  of  pupils  in  a  school 
class  as  small  as  possible?  Why? 

Would  your  teacher  be  able  to  help  you  individually  most  in  a  class  of 
35pupilsorinoneof  20?  15?  10?5?2?  1?   Why  do  you  think  so ?  Would 


SCHOOLS  AND  GOOD  CITIZENS 


133 


this  be  true  no  matter  what  you  were  studying?  Suppose  you  were  learn- 
ing some  difficult  new  thing  in  arithmetic,  or  mathematics,  as  for  instance 
how  to  find  per  cents  or  how  to  use  letters  to  represent  numbers.  Could 
she  teach  you  most  easily  if  you  were  alone,  or  with  10  others,  or  20  others, 
or  30  or  40  others?  In  which  case  could  you  ask  questions  best  and  really 
make  progress  fastest?  What  size  of  class  would  be  best  for  such  kinds  of 
work?    Be  ready  to  tell  your  reasons. 

Now  suppose  you  were  going  to  take  a  spelling  or  arithmetic  test,  or 
practice  in  arithmetic  or  writing.  Which  size  of  class  would  be  best  for 
that?  Could  the  test  be  taken  just  as  well  with  30  as  with  1  in  the  class? 
With  50  ?  If  you  were  the  superintendent  and  were  trying  to  run  the  schools 
just  as  well  as  you  could  and  at  the  same  time  as  economically  as  you  could 
(to  save  the  community's  money),  how  many  pupils  would  you  want  to  put 
into  a  class  for  the  testing  and  practice  work?  Why? 

There  are  other  kinds  of  school  work  that  are  very  important.  One  is 
the  kind  you  are  doing  in  the  social  studies.  In  such  work  you  have  consid- 
erable reading  to  do.  This,  of  course,  you  do  by  yourself.  It  is  an  mdiv- 
idual  matter,  for  of  course  you  read  silently  so  as  to  get  the  ideas  from  your 
reading.  All  your  class-mates  do  the  same  thing.  Reading  for  this  purpose 
should  not  be  done  aloud,  should  it?  Since  you  do  not  need  an  audi- 
ence you  do  not  need  to  work  as  a  class. 

In  addition  to  the  reading  you  do  individually  there  are  exercises  to  be 
done.  Maps  have  to  be  made.  Graphs  must  be  constructed.  Reports  about 
reading  that  you  have  done  have  to  be  written  and  presented  orally  before 
the  class.   All  of  that  sort  of  thing  is  your  own  individual  work,  too,  isn't  it  ? 

But  then  comes  what  is  perhaps  the  best  part  of  your  work — the  class^ 
discussion.  The  whole  class  comes  together  and  talks  over  the  reading  that 
has  been  done  and  listens  to  individual  reports  on  particular  topics.  In  this 
work  you  need  others  to  talk  to  about  your  work.  You  need  to  be  in  a  class, 
not  just  by  yourself  as  when  you  are  learning  something  difficult  and  new 
in  mathematics  say,  or  science.  There  will  be  points  to  be  argued.  It  will 
be  fine  to  have  debates  and  to  exchange  ideas  with  other  people  about  the 
things  you  have  been  reading.  You  need  to  go  on  excursions  in  your  com- 
munity. You  need  to  work  with  class-mates  in  making  the  surveys  of  hous- 
ing and  of  health,  of  social  groups,  of  newspapers,  etc.  in  the  community. 

For  all  such  work  in  the  social  studies  and  for  like  kinds  of  work  in  the 
English  and  science  classes  you  need  to  be  a  part  of  a  group,  of  a  class.  How 
large  a  class  is  best  ?  50  ?  No,  clearly  that  would  be  too  many.  30  ?  Per- 
haps. Ask  your  teacher  what  number  of  boys  and  girls  she  would  prefer  in 
a  class  in  order  to  have  the  best  discussions.  What  do  you  think?  Would 
the  desirable  number  be  5  ?  Could  you  get  different  points  of  view  well 
represented  in  classes  of  5?.  How  about  15?  or  20?  Discuss  this  matter 
thoroughly  so  as  to  arrive  at  some  conclusion  about  it. 


134 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


What  is  your  answer  now  to  the  question :  Is  it  important  that  the  num- 
ber of  pupils  in  a  class  should  be  as  small  as  possible?  What  are  your 
reasons  ? 


Since  you  are  surveying  your  community,  your  next  problem  should  be  to 
find  out  how  many  children  there  are  in  the  separate 
classes  of  the  schools  of  your  town. 

Where  will  you  go  to  find  out?  Will  you  have  to  ask  the  principals, 
or  the  teachers,  or  inquire  at  the  superintendent's  office?  No.  you  will  find 
such  information  in  the  annual  school  report  of  your  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  published  by  the  Board  of  Education.  Appoint  a  committee  to 
bring  several  copies  of  this  report  to  your  class.  It  really  would  be  a  good 
thing  to  have  quite  a  number  of  copies  of  the  last  report  in  your  room  in 
order  that  members  of  the  class  may  refer  to  it  as  they  will  need  to  from 
time  to  time. 

Perhaps  the  Superintendent  may  have  published  a  separate  pamphlet  to 
inform  the  citizens  about  such  matters.  Many  superintendents  are  doing 
that  nowadays  to  make  the  material  more  readable  and  interesting  so  that  it 
w^ill  be  more  widely  read  by  the  people  than  the  reports  usually  are.  What- 
ever the  reports  that  may  have  been  published,  look  up  the  facts  about  the 
number  of  pupils  a  teacher  has  to  teach. 

Do  this  for  the  elementary  schools  and  for  the 
high  schools  separately 

One  committee  should  get  this  information  on  the  elementary  schools 
and  another  on  high  schools.  In  American  schools  we  have  formed  the 
habit  of  making  elementary  school  teachers  teach  more  pupils  than  high 
school  teachers.  On  the  average  the  high  school  teacher  has  only  25  pupils 
in  a  class  where  the  elementary  teacher  averages  35. 

Be  sure  that  you  know  what  the  differences  are  between 
elementary  schools  and  high  schools. 

How  many  grades  are  there  in  your  school  building?  Eight  or  six?  or 
perhaps  nine?  If  there  are  8,  then  you  are  in  an  eight-grade  elementary 
school.  When  you  complete  the  eighth  grade  you  can  enter  a  four-year 
high  school.  Very  likely  your  school  system  has  twelve  grades — 8  ele- 
mentary ones  with  the  pupils  divided  among  a  number  of  small  buildings 
scattered  over  the  community,  and  4  high  school  grades  in  one  or  a  very 
few  high  school  buildings. 


SCHOOLS  AND  GOOD  CITIZENS 


135 


It  may  be,  on  the  other  hand,  that  your  seventh  grade  class  is  in  one  of 
the  new  "junior  high  schools."  About  1,000  communities  in  America  have 
organized  these  new  kinds  of  high  schools.  They  are  not  always  of  the  same 
type,  but  in  general  they  comprise  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades. 
Sometimes  only  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  are  put  together.  In  other 
communities  that  do  not  believe  in  breaking  up  the  system  into  so  many 
schools,  there  are  two  kinds,  a  six-grade  elementary  school,  and  a  six-year 
high  school  comprising  grades  7  to  12  inclusive. 

Which  kind  of  school  is  yours? 

Next  find  out  what  the  chief  differences  are  between  them.  In  the  first 
place,  how  many  different  teachers  teach  youf  One,  all  day  long?  Do  you 
have  the  same  teacher  in  all  subjects — reading,  arithmetic,  social  studies, 
spelling,  etc?  Or  do  you  have  a  different  one  in  each  subject- — one  for 
mathematics,  another  for  social  studies,  another  for  English?  That  is  the 
first  difference.  The  high  school  generally  arranges  for  special  teachers  in 
the  different  subjects ;  an  elementary  school  provides  one  teacher  for  a  grade 
room,  and  she  teaches  everything. 

Can  you  think  out  which  scheme  would  be  better?  It  is  very  difficult 
to  know  because  there  are  arguments  on  both  sides.  Get  your  teacher  to 
discuss  it  with  you — she  will  know  the  different  arguments.  She  will  tell 
you  whether  she  thinks  it  better  to  have  a  teacher  really  know  one  or  two 
subjects  well  and  spend  her  time  on  these  subjects;  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
whether  if  one  teacher  taught  all  subjects  she  could  not  relate  the  work  of 
one  to  that  of  another  better  than  separate  teachers  could.  Ask  her  about 
such  points.    Challenge  her  with  questions,  if  her  reasons  are  not  convincing. 

There's  another  difference  between  the  two  kinds  of  schools,  and  that 
is  in  the  number  and  kinds  of  school  subjects  taught.  Make  a  blackboard 
list  of  the  "subjects"  you  study  in  the  elementary  school.  Begin,  say,  with 
the  sixth  grade ;  arithmetic,  spelling,  etc.  Make  a  list  now  of  those  you 
study  this  year.  Your  teacher  will  make  a  list  of  those  you  will  study  in 
high  school. 

Notice  that  one  difference  is  that  in  the  elementary  school  each  pupil 
is  required  to  study  all  the  subjects.  In  the  high  school  certain  ones,  like 
English,  mathematics,  and  languages,  are  studied  by  all  pupils  while  other 
subjects  are  chosen  according  to  special  interests  in  them  or  expected  need 
for  them  in  future  work.  For  example,  one  pupil  may  need  advanced 
mathematics  because  he  is  going  to  be  an  engineer;  another,  on  the  other 
hand,  will  need  stenography  or  bookkeeping;  while  a  third  may  require 
Latin  or  some  modern  foreign  language. 

There  are  other  differences  between  the  elementary  and  high  schools. 
Discuss  them  with  your  teacher  and  when  you  have  finished,  make  a  black- 
board summary  of  them.  It  may  be  that  your  Board  of  Education  has  been 
considering  the  question  of  changing  the  grades  and  putting  in  "junior" 


136 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


high  schools.  If  so,  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  appoint  a  committee  to  find 
out  all  about  it — the  reasons  for  which  the  Board  of  Education  finally  de- 
cided to  put  them  in,  if  they  have  decided  to  do  so,  and  the  arguments  for 
them  and  against  them  in  your  community.  If  the  Board  members  decided 
against  junior  high  schools,  find  out  why. 

In  case  the  community  (if  it  is  at  least  a  medium-sized  community  of 
20,000  or  30,000  people  or  more)  has  not  considered  the  matter,  your  class 
might  raise  the  question  for  discussion.  Even  though  you  are  only  12  to 
14  years  of  age,  remember  you  and  your  classmates  are  rapidly  approaching 
the  time  when  you  will  be  citizens  of  the  community  and  yourselves  help  to 
determine  these  things.  Begin  now  to  take  part  in  the  public  afiEairs  of 
the  community  by  gathering  information  and  making  yourself  familiar  with 
these  problems. 


Why  are  so  MAny  Pupils  Taught  in  One  Class?  Why 
ARE  THE  Classes  Not  Made  Smaller? 

No  doubt,  by  this  time,  that  question  has  been  running  through  your 
mind.  Why  should  you  not  be  permitted  to  study  in  small  groups  or  even 
to  work  alone  much  of  the  time  as  an  individual  ? 

There  is  one  important  reason : 

American  Communities  Have  Been  Unwilling  to 
Pay  the   Necessary  Money   for  Smaller  Classes. 

If  the  thirty  pupils  of  one  class  were  put  into  two  classes  of  15  pupils 
each  the  community  would  have  to  pay  nearly  twice  as  much  money  each 
year.  How  does  that  happen?  Well,  it  means  two  teachers  instead  of  one, 
doesn't  it?  And  about  three  quarters  of  all  the  money  spent  for  education 
goes  to  pay  the  teachers. 

Look  up  in  your  latest  school  report  the  proportion  of  all  school  money 
that  went  to  pay  the  salaries  of  teachers. 

Such  a  change,  furthermore,  would  mean  more  school  principals  and  it 
would  certainly  mean  more  buildings.  Not  twice  as  many  buildings,  it  is 
true,  but  probably  half  again  as  many.  All  in  all  the  one  reason  why  you 
and  twenty  million  other  children  in  America  are  taught  in  large  classes  is 
the  American  communities  have  been  unwilling  to  spend  the  necessary  money 
to  have  smaller  ones. 

How  Much  Does  Your  Community  Spend  Each  Year 
PER  Elementary  School  Pupil?  per  High  School  Pupil? 

The  answer  to  that  question  also  you  can  find  somewhere  in  your  latest 
annual  school  report.    See  if  you  can  find  a  statement  telling  how  much  all 


SCHOOLS  AND  GOOD  CITIZENS 


137 


your  schools  cost  per  pupil.  If  you  can  get  this  information,  then  you  can 
compare  what  your  schools  spen4  with  this  brand  new  figure  just  published 
about  the  schools  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts. 


SCHOOL  COSTS  10  YEARS  AGO  AND  NOW 

These  statistics  show  the  enormous  increase  in  educational  costs  through- 

out Massachusetts  during  the  past  10  years: 

Increase 

ITEM 

1911-12 

1921-22 

Percent 

General  control  including  salaries  and  ex- 

penses of  school  committees  and  superin- 

tpnrlpnf<! 

$727  018 

$1,701,606 

134 

Salaries    of    supervisors,    principals  and 

teachers    _ 

12,991,736 

34,130,292 

162 

Textbooks,  stationery,  supplies 

1,086,051 

2,391,311 

120 

Operation  of  school  plant,  including  janitor 

service  and  fuel  

2,344,012 

5,539,891 

136 

Repairs,  replacement  and  upkeep 

799,542 

2,268,289 

184 

Libraries   __ 

2,848 

14,818 

420 

Promotion  of  healtn 

118,940 

546,296 

359 

Transportation   _  _  

362,185 

1,129,380 

212 

Miscellaneous  expenditures  for  support  

336,869 

902,141 

167 

Total  for  support,  including  ordinary  repairs 

18,769,204 

48,624,118 

159 

Cost  per  pupil  in  average  membership- 

$38.12 

$78.13 

105 

Total  for  outlay — new  school  houses,  alter- 

ations and  permanent  repairs 

3,733,729 

5,559,410 

45 

Total  for  support  and  outlay 

22,502,934 

54,183,529 

141 

Cost  per  pupil  in  average  membership  

$45.71 

$87.06 

90 

The  figures  in  the  table  compare  the  costs  of  all  the  schools  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  1911-12  with  1921-22,  the  year  just  past. 

If  you  had  lived  in  Massachusetts  how  much  would  the  people  have 
been  spending  last  year  to  educate  you?  $87.06  if  you  had  been  in  a  typical 
community.  Of  course  that  figure  means  that  for  half  of  the  children  less 
than  $87.06  was  spent,  and  for  the  other  half  more  than  $87.06  was  spent — 
how  much  more  we  are  not  told.  Some  communities — wealthy  and  progres- 
ive  ones — spend  as  much  as  $150  annually  on  each  boy  and  girl  who  goes  to 
school.  Others  spend  less  than  $50.00.  And  the  expenditures  of  the  rest 
of  the  communities  throughout  the  country  range  all  the  way  between  these 
figures. 

Where  does  your  town  stand  in  the  educational  cost  roll  of  American 
communities?  Is  it  endowing  education  well  or  not?  Is  education  worth 
endowing  or  isn't  it? 

What  are  the  Schools  for  Anyway? 

This  whole  question  of  whether  education  is  worth  endowing  raises  the 
further  one  of  what  the  real  purpose  of  the  school  is.  What  are  the  schools 
expected  to  accomplish? 


138 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


What  does  America  spend  for  Education  as  compared  with 
what  it  spends  for  Other  Things? 

Just  how  important  Americans  regard  schools  can  be  shown  in  a  number 
of  ways.  One  way  is  by  comparing  the  amount  they  spend  for  education 
with  the  amount  they  spend  for  other  things. 

Last  year  for  all  kinds  of  schools  America  spent  about  a  billion  dollars. 
The  list  included  elementary  schools  and  high  schools  (22,000,000  children) 
evening  schools,  normal  schools  for  the  training  of  teachers,  colleges  and 
universities,  engineering  schools  to  train  those  who  build  our  bridges,  our 
cities,  our  railroads,  canals,  tunnels,  irrigate  our  arid  lands  and  drain  our 
swamp  lands,  law  schools,  and  medical  schools.  Now  in  the  same  year  the 
American  people  spent  more  than  twenty  times  that  amount  for  luxuries. 

The  following  budget  furnished  by  a  college  president  gives  us  some- 
thing to  think  about : 

We  Squander  Every  Year: 

$2,100,000,000.00  for  smokes  (cigars,  cigarettes,  snuff,  etc.). 
$1,000,000,000.00  for  movies. 
$2,230,000,000.00  for  candy. 

$1,950,000,000.00  for  cosmetics,  perfume,  scented  toilet  soap. 
$500,000,000.00  for  jewelry. 
$350,000,000.00  for  furs. 
$300,000,000.00  for  soft  drinks. 
$50,000,000.00  for  chewing  gum. 

$3,000,000,000.00  for  races,  joy  rides,  and  pleasure  resorts. 

For  Luxuries  of  All  Kinds,  We  Spend  Yearly: 
$22,700,000,000.00. 

Against  This  We  Spend  Yearly: 

$1,000,000,000.00  for  all  education. 

$650,000,000.00  for  grade  schools. 

$150,000,000.00  for  colleges  and  professional  schools. 

$100,000,000.00  for  public  high  schools. 

$  20,500,000.00  for  normal  schools. 

$  25,000,000.00  for  all  church  schools  and  colleges." 

What  conclusion  do  you  draw  from  a  table  like  that  ?  Have  the  Ameri- 
can people  learned  enough  of  the  importance  of  education  to  really  support 
it  as  they  should?  What  do  you  really  think  about  its  importance  any- 
way?   Is  it  worth  spending  more  money  on? 


SCHOOLS  AND  COOD  CITIZENS 


139 


At  the  present  time  we  are  spending  about  $3,000,000.00  a  year  for 
wars.  Most  of  that  tremendous  expenditure,  of  course,  is  for  past  wars, — 
that  is,  for  the  interest  on  the  enormous  debt  we  have  incurred,  most  of  it 
during  the  past  six  years. 

The  United  States  spent  Three  Billion  Dollars  for  War  last 
year — Three  times  as  much  as  for  all  Educational  purposes. 
85  Per  Cent  of  our  Governmental  Expenditures  are  for  War. 

To  maintain  a  standing  army  in  time  of  peace ;  to  maintain,  repair,  and 
add  to  our  huge  navy ;  to  pay  pensions  to  soldiers  and  dependants  of  soldiers  of 
past  wars,  to  pay  interest  on  staggering  war  debts,  especially  those  of  the 
World  War  of  1917-18,  we  incurred  last  year  the  crushing  expense  of  three 
billion  dollars.  What  do  you  think  about  devoting  so  much  of  our  hard- 
earned  money  to  destructive  purposes  and  so  little  of  it  to  the  education  of 


the  crumbling  foundation. 
Fig.  321 


all  our  people  ?  How  important  in  proportion  is  it  to  make  our  citizens  in- 
telligent about  matters  both  of  our  nation  and  of  world  affairs  so  that  they 
will  take  a  position  of  really  great  leadership  ? 


iFrom  "The  Literary  Digest,"  May  1,  1920. 


140 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


America  is  a  Democracy.  The  People  Choose  their 
own  Leaders  and  Decide  Many  Things  themselves. 

What  do  you  think  about  the  necessity  for 
education  in  such  a  country? 

In  your  class  make  a  two-column  blackboard  list  of  arguments  for  and 
against  the  proposition  that  America  should  spend  many  times  what  she  does 
now  on  education. 

Perhaps  you  would  like  to  have  a  debate  on  that  proposition.  It  is  a 
question  that  the  American  people  have  debated  from  the  very  beginning. 


Another  Important  Problem  of  Education :  To  keep  pupils 
in  school  as  many  years  as  possible 

In  a  country  like  ours,  as  you  will  find  in  your  studies,  there  are  many 
difficult  problems.  In  the  schools  these  are  going  to  be  studied  more  and 
more.  It  takes  many  years  to  learn  enough  about  America's  problems  to 
really  understand  them.  What  do  you  think  that  has  to  do  with  the 
question:    How  long  should  a  boy  or  a  girl  go  to  school? 

Some  people  say  the  answer  to  it  is:  Just  as  long  as  he  or  she  possibly 
can.  They  are  very  anxious  to  have  our  young  people  become  just  as  well 
educated  as  possible  so  that  they  will  learn  how  to  elect  wise  leaders  to  gov- 
ern our  communities,  the  states,  and  the  nation.  And  they  bring  all  sorts  of 
argument  to  bear  on  the  question. 

One  argument  for  going  to  school  longer  is 
that  it  pays  financially  to  do  so. 

Does  it  pay  to  go  to  high  school?  That  is  a  question  many  14-year  old 
boys  and  girls  have  to  face.  The  law  of  most  states  says  they  must  go  to 
school  until  they  are  14  years  old — after  that  they  may  do  as  they  like.  Very 
large  numbers  of  them  leave  school  at  that  age  to  go  to  work.  They  think 
that  by  beginning  at  once  to  earn  a  few  dollars  a  week,  they  will  gain  on 
those  that  remain  in  school  longer. 

Do  they  gain  on  the  others?  Study  Fig.  33,  page  141.  What  do  you  con- 
clude about  the  question  we  are  considering? 

How  Long  do  Pupils  Tend  to  Stay  in 
School  in  Your  Town? 
This  question  of  leaving  school  is  a  very  important  question.  If  America 
is  to  solve  her  very  complicated  problems  of  industry  and  politics  she  must 
have  voters  who  are  well  educated.  That  means  we  must  keep  our  children 
in  school  just  as  many  years  as  we  can.   At  the  present  time  the  laws  are  so 


SCHOOLS  AND  GOOD  CITIZENS 


141 


arranged  in  most  states  that  one  must  go  to  school  from  the  time  he  is  6  or  7 
years  old  until  he  is  14.   In  a  few  states  children  must  stay  until  they  are- 16. 

If  a  pupil  went  along  through  school  spending  a  year  in  each  grade,  he 
would  just  about  complete  the  8  grades  of  the  elementary  school.  That 


Wages  of  Two  Groups  of  Brooklyn  Citizena 


Those  who 

Those  who 

left  school  at 

left  school  at 

14; 

18; 

Yearly  Salary 

Yearly  Salary 

When  14  yeara  ot  age 

$200 

$  0 

"  16 

250 

0 

350 

500 

475 

750 

"  20 

575 

1^000 

22 

600 

1,150 

"  24 

25 

688 

1,550 

Total  Salary  11  years 

$5,112.50 

Total  Salary  7  years 

$7,337.50 

Fig.  331 


would  not  give  him  any  high  school  work  at  all.  In  reality,  many  pupils 
fail  to  pass  in  one  or  more  grades.  (Sometimes  as  many  as  25  or  30  per 
cent  fail.)  That  means  that  when  they  are  14  they  have  completed  the  work 
of  only  the  first  5  or  6  grades.  Yet  many  leave  school  just  the  same  when 
they  become  14. 

70!( 
60^ 
50% 

20% 
\0% 

I       II       III       IV       V       VI      VII     VII!      IX       X      XI  Xll 

Fig.  342 

1  Cubberley,  E.  P.:  Public  Education  in  the  United  States,  page  356.  Houghton, 
Mifflin  Company,  Boston,  1918. 

2  Finney,  R.  L.:  The  American  Public  School,  page  197.  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, New  York,  1921. 


142 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Fig.  34,  page  141,  shows  the  per  cent  of  pupils  in  the  schools  of  the 
United  States  who,  in  1918,  continued  through  the  different  grades  of  the 
school.  What  per  cent  stayed  through  the  elementary  school?  the  high 
school?    What  per  cent  had  left  by  the  end  of  the  fifth  year? 

With  such  facts  in  mind  make  a  study  of 
the  question   for  your  own  community : 

HOW  LONG  DO  PUPILS  STAY  IN  SCHOOL? 

You  will  find  the  records  in  the  latest  annual  report  of  the  Board  of 
Education.  If  they  are  not  graphed  make  up  an  original  graph  showing  the 
facts. 

Apply  the  study  to  your  own  room  and  your  own  school.  How  many 
pupils  in  your  room  are  planning  to  leave  to  go  to  work?  What  kind  of 
work  will  they  do?  What  kind  of  job  will  it  lead  to?  Will  it  pay  them 
in  the  long  run?  Have  a  real  debate  over  the  matter.  Probably  nothing 
that  such  pupils  will  ever  do  will  have  a  more  important  influence  on  their 
lives  than  leaving  school.    Get  them  to  think  it  over  very  carefully. 

Why  Do  You  Pupils  Leave  School  Anyway? 

Of  course  "going  to  work"  isn't  the  only  reason  for  leaving  school  early, 
is  it?   Here  are  some  more  reasons  that  one  investigating  commission  found 


111   health    5% 

To  go  to  work   35.5% 

Child's  desire  to  earn  money    8.2% 

Kept  vacation  work   2.6% 

Disliked  or  not  interested  in  school   29.6% 

Trouble  with  teacher    3.1% 

Failure  to  pass    1.1% 

Further  public  school  not  "worth  while"   14.2% 


What  are  the  two  chief  reasons  for  dropping  out  of  school?  Why  do 
you  suppose  that  29.6%  of  the  pupils  disliked  or  were  not  interested  in 
school?  What  do  you  think  we  ought  to  do  about  pupils  leaving  school? 
Why? 

Why  do  the  Pupils  leave  School  in  Your  Town? 

With  such  facts  in  mind  study  the  reasons  for  pupils  leaving  school  in 
your  own  community.  Look  in  the  annual  school  reports.  Make  up  a  table 
or  a  graph  which  shows  the  different  reasons.  Which  are  good  reasons? 
Is  the  number  increasing  or  decreasing  in  your  city? 

From  a  study  of  such  facts,  what  things  do  you  think  should  be  changed 
in  the  school  itself? 

1  Judd,  C.  H. :  Introduction  to  the  Scientific  Study  of  Education,  page  121.  Ginn 
and  Company,  Boston,  1918. 


SCHOOLS  AND  GOOD  CITIZENS 


143 


Who  Decides  What  Schools  You  Will  Have?    Who  Decides 
About  Your  Buildings,  Your  School  Books?    Who  Secures  the 
Teachers  and  Raises  the  Money  for  it  all? 

THE   BOARD  OF  EDUCATION 

In  America  we  turn  all  these  questions  of  education  over  to  a  small  body 
of  citizens  known  as  the  Board  of  Education.  Until  within  the  past  fifteen 
years  Boards  of  Education  comprised  a  considerable  number  of  people,  some- 
times as  many  as  forty  or  fifty.  People  found  that  such  a  number  of  men  and 
women  was  too  large  to  discuss  school  matters  effectively,  so  cities  have 
cut  down  the  number  until  now  5,  7,  or  9  are  the  most  common  sizes  of 
Boards.  You  see  7  to  9  people  can  sit  together  at  Board  Meetings,  inters 
change  ideas,  and  talk  things  over  in  a  way  that  a  larger  group  can't. 

How  Many  members  are  on  the  Board  of  Education 
in  Your  Home  Town  ? 

What  Occupations  are  Represented  on  Your  Board  of 
Education?     Are   Board  Members  Lawyers, 
Doctors,  Business  Men  ?   Are  They  Teachers  ? 

Of  course,  questions  of  education  are  just  as  much  a  professional  matter 
to  the  school  man  as  are  the  questions  of  medicine  to  the  doctor  or  of  law  to 
the  lawyer.  Since  Boards  of  Education  are  generally  not  made  up  of  people 
who  are  themselves  teachers,  principals,  and  superintendents,  they  know  that 
they  must  employ  persons  who  are  trained  and  experienced  in  education. 

Each  School  Board,  therefore,  selects  a  Head  to  Run  the  School  System. 

THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  SCHOOLS 

In  our  day  Superintendents,  Principals,  and  Teachers  are 
Becoming  well-trained  in  their  Profession,  so  Boards  of  Edu- 
cation   are    relying    on    Them    to    Run    the  Schools. 

On  page  144  is  a  chart  that  shows  briefly  how  the  work  of  schools  is 
carried  on.  Find  out  from  your  school  report  if  the  arrangement  of  things 
in  your  school  is  like  that.  Notice  that  this  is  like  an  ordinary  business  con- 
cern in  that  the  people  who  "own"  the  business  elect  directors.  These 
directors  choose  a  manager.  He  is  an  expert  and  has  general  oversight  of 
the  business.  On  the  chart  the  School  Board  are  the  "directors"  and  the 
School  Superintendent  the  "manager." 


a  7 

144  TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


The  People  Elect 


The  School  Board 
This  Board  Chooses 


The  School  Superintendent 
He  Recommends  and  the  Board  Appoints 


Elementary  school 
principals  and  teachers 
and  janitors 


Special  school 

principals  and  teach- 
ers, e.  g.  for  even- 
ings schools,  techni- 
cal schools,  normal 
schools,  etc. 


Find  out  how  it  is  done  in  your  community  and  make  up  a  chart  to  show 
the  arrangement. 


One  other  Important  Problem  for  you  to  Study  About 
Your  Community: 


HOW  DO  THE  CITIZENS  LEARN  ABOUT  THEIR  SCHOOLS? 

There  have  been  great  changes  in  most  schools  in  the  past  twenty  years. 
No  doubt  there  have  been  changes  in  your  town.  Do  the  grown-up  people 
still  think  of  the  schools  as  they  were  when  they  went  to  school?  Do  your 
parents?  Many,  many  parents  still  think  they  are  just  the  same  now  as  they 
were  in  their  childhood.  They  do  not  know  of  the  remarkable  improve- 
ments that  have  been  made  in  schools  in  the  past  few  years  and  so  they  con- 
tinue to  criticize  schools  and  teachers  on  the  old  basis. 

It  is  important  for  the  Superintendent  and  the  principals  and 
teachers  to  have  a  way  to  tell  the  citizens  about  the  schools. 
Do  the  newspapers  of  your  town  help  the  schools  or  hamper 

them? 

There  is  no  better  way  for  the  citizens  of  a  community  to  learn  about 
the  fine  things  going  on  in  their  schools  than  through  the  newspapers.  In 
some  places  the  newspapers  give  a  good  deal  of  space  to  school  events.  On 
the  other  h?.nd,  in  many, — perhaps  a  majority  of  American  cities — the  news- 
papers give  very  little  attention  to  the  schools,  except  to  find  fault  with  them. 

What  do  you  think  about  that  sort  of  business? 


Find  out  how  much  space  the  papers  of  your  town  give  to  the  schools. 


SCHOOLS  AND  GOOD  CITIZENS 


145 


Appoint  a  committee  to  bring  in  a  report  on  the  matter.  Compare  the 
amount  of  space  given  to  schools  with  the  amount  given  to  the  courts,  the 
streets,  fires,  accidents,  and  scandal. 

What  kinds  of  things  now  going  on  in  the  schools  should  be  reported  in 
the  papers  ? 


Does  your  school  have  a  Parent-Teachers  Association  ? 

If  so,  how  many  families  belong  to  it?  Do  your  parents?  Do  they  at- 
tend the  meetings?  How  often  are  meetings  held?  What  kinds  of  things 
are  talked  about  at  the  meetings?  Who  talks?  Do  the  parents?  the 
teachers?  the  principals?    the  Superintendent? 

Do  the  parent-teachers'  meetings  succeed  in  telling  any  large  propor- 
tion of  the  community  about  the  schools?    How  large  a  proportion? 

In  what  other  ways  does  your  community  learn  about 
your  schools? 

Do  parents  read  the  school  reports  that  are  published?  Find  out  if 
yours  do.  If  not,  why  not?  Does  the  Board  of  Education  print  pamphlets 
which  describe  in  clear  language  what  is  going  on  in  the  schools? 

Your  School  Survey 

Now  get  all  the  facts  you  have  collected  into  proper  shape  for  the  "edu- 
cation" part  of  your  community  survey.  You  must  use  your  best  judgment 
in  the  material  you  use  and  the  way  you  organize  it. 

EXERCISE 

1.  State  all  the  points  you  would  make  in  an  argument  to  convince  your  opponent 
that  we  do  not  spend  enough  money  on  Education. 

2.  Give  your  reasons  for  wishing  to  be  a  member  of  a  class  which  numbers  from 
20  to  25  pupils. 

3.  Find  out  the  different  sources  of  income  the  Board  of  Education  has  with  which 
to  run  the  schools.    Which  of  these  could  the  community  increase. 

4.  Explain  why  throughout  the  United  States  the  classes  in  our  schools  are  so  large. 

5.  Prove  that  education  "pays." 


SECTION  XV 


HOW   CAN   AMERICAN   COMMUNITIES  GOVERN 
THEMSELVES    EFFICIENTLY  ? 

How  does  it  happen  that  all  the  complicated  things  of  a  community  go 
along  so  smoothly?  In  your  earlier  study  you  learned  what  an  interde- 
pendent world  we  live  in  —  the  city  depending  on  the  country  and  the 
country  on  the  city,  one  section  of  the  country  on  another  section,  one  in- 
dustry on  another  industry,  one  worker  on  another  worker.  We  found 
that  on  account  of  this  interdependence  the  very  fragile  scheme  of  industry 
and  business  went  along  smoothly  only  when  people  really  co-operated — 
that  is,  when  they  worked  together  for  the  common  good. 

Now,  all  those  things  that  people  are  engaged  in — mining,  manufactur- 
ing, agriculture,  buying  and  selling,  banking,  railroading,  telegraphing,  and 
the  like  are  things  they  do  to  earn  a  living.  Something  very  powerful  is  al- 
ways driving  people  along  in  such  activities:  the  desire  for  profit.  They 
are  always  trying  to  earn  enough  to  keep  alive,  to  have  more  and  more  com- 
forts, and  enough  income  to  really  enjoy  life. 

But  what  keeps  the  affairs  of  the  community  going?  What  is  it  that 
brings  the  fire  wagons  speeding  to  your  house  when  a  fire  breaks  out  ?  What 
is  it  that  keeps  the  traffic  policeman  at  his  post  day  after  day  ?  The  garbage 
collectors  and  street  cleaners?  Health  offcers?  What  keeps  the  water  de- 
partment steadily  "on  the  job'?  Do  such  people  engage  in  this  work  as  a 
matter  of  private  business?  No,  of  course  not.  They  are  employed  by  the 
community,  aren't  they?  The  people  as  a  whole  employ  the  policeman,  the 
fireman,  the  health  officer,  and  the  others.  Evidently  the  people  as  a  whole 
run  a  very  large  business.    They  do  indeed. 

The  greatest  business  in  America  is  the  Business  of  Government. 
All  the  people  are  stock-holders  in  this  greatest  of 
Business  Corporations. 

Six  billion  dollars'  worth  of  business  in  one  year!  That  is  a  Business, 
isn't  it?  Yes,  to  run  the  governments  of  the  United  States  last  year  cost  the 
people  of  the  United  States  more  than  $6,000,000,000.  No  other  business 
in  existence  can  compare  with  it.  Of  course  that  sum  includes  what  they 
paid  for  the  national  government  and  the  state  governments,  as  well  as  the 
local  town  and  city  governments.  Your  problem  just  now  is  of  course  to 
study  the  way  your  local  community  is  governed.  We'll  study  the  state 
and  national  governments  later. 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


147 


Which  kind  of  community  is  most  effectively 
governed,  the  small  town  or  the  large  city? 
The  New  England  Town  Meeting 

Have  you  ever  lived  in  a  small  New  England  community?  If  you  have 
you  know  that  every  spring  the  people  have  what  they  call  a  town  meeting. 
To  this  meeting  the  townspeople  assemble  to  discuss  the  public  affairs  of 
the  town. 

What  is  known  as  a  "moderator"  presides  over  the  meeting  just  as  your 
President  presides  over  your  class,  and  a  clerk  takes  the  minutes.  It  is  a  very 
democratic  affair.  That  is,  any  voter  (and  all  people  21  years  of  age  can 
vote)  can  stand  up  in  the  town  meeting  and  make  a  motion  to  have  the 
town  do  something  or  other ;  also  he  can  say  what  is  on  his  mind  about  any 
proposal  that  has  been  made.  That  is,  he  can  nominate  or  support  any  person 
he  chooses  for  an  office ;  he  can  talk  freely  about  the  way  the  streets  are  be- 
ing kept,  or  the  water  system  if  there  is  one,  or  the  taxes,  or  anything  else 
that  pertains  to  the  town. 

Now  in  the  small  town  meeting — generally  there  are  only  a  few  hun- 
dred people  assembled  in  the  Town  Hall  or  in  one  of  the  larger  churches  — 
everybody  knows  everybody  else.  For  that  reason  the  town  meeting  can 
elect  its  town  officials  pretty  efficiently. 

What  officials  are  chosen  to  run  the  Public 
Affairs  of  the  New  England  town? 

Ever  since  the  First  Massachusetts  Bay  settlement  at  Boston  in  1630, 
the  public  business  of  towns  has  been  managed  by  a  committee  of  "Select 
Men,"  three  to  five  in  number.  These  Selectmen  are  chosen  by  the  voters 
in  town  meeting.  Any  voter  can  stand  and  nominate  anyone  he  wishes  to 
serve  in  the  position  of  Selectman. 

The  older  men  of  the  town  are  generally  elected — they  are,  of  course, 
well  known.  There  is,  therefore,  little  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  voters 
about  the  qualifications  of  the  men  voted  on  for  positions  in  the  town  gov- 
ernment. 

Does  the  fact  that  the  people  know  the  candidates  necessarily 
mean  that  an  efficient  governm.ent  will  result? 

What  do  you  think?  Knowledge  of  a  man's  qualifications  for  office  is 
very  necessary.    Does  it,  however,  insure  good  government? 

After  the  Selectmen  are  chosen,  they  meet  and  decide  how  the  affairs 
of  the  town  are  to  be  run.  They  choose  a  town  "marshall,"  his  assistant 
policemen,  and  a  local  justice  of  the  peace.  They  arrange  for  the  fire  de- 
partment, for  the  care  of  the  streets,  for  the  water  department  if  the  village  is 


148 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


large  enough  to  warrant  the  expense  of  a  central  water  sysem  (if  not,  each 
house-holder  must  provide  for  his  own  water  by  digging  a  well  or  by  some 
other  method).  Taxes  to  pay  for  running  these  departments  of  the  town 
have  to  be  arranged  for  and  an  ''assessor"  appointed  to  decide  how  much 
each  person's  property  is  worth  and  how  large  a  tax  he  shall  pay. 

Now  who  is  chosen  to  see  to  the  care  of  the  streets,  to  run  the  fire  de- 
partment, the  water  department,  to  be  assessor,  .etc?  All  local  men,  of 
course.  Is  it  probable  that  they  are  all  well-trained,  experienced  men  in  the 
line  of  work  for  which  they  are  chosen?  No,  not  probable,  but  the  small 
community  generally  has  to  be  content  with  "home  talent,"  It  cannot  afford 
to  hire  high-priced  experts  from  outside. 

In  the  small  New-  England  community,  then,  everybody  knows  every- 
body else  and  government  is  rather  a  direct  personal  affair.  Certainly  in 
electing  local  officials  the  people  cannot  plead  ignorance  of  the  qualifications 
of  the  candidates. 

How,  on  the  Contrary,  Are  Officials  Selected  in  Cities? 

In  large  cities  do  the  voters  come  together  in  one  central  place  and  hold 
a  town  meeting?  Do  they  even  in  medium-sized  cities  of  10,000  to  30,000 
people?  No,  that,  of  course,  is  impossible.  Why?  Just  because  there  are 
too  many  people  to  bring  together  to  discuss  town  matters  effectively.  In 
a  city  of  30,000  people  there  are  at  least  10,000  voters,  now  that  the  women 
vote  too.  Even  if  only  half  attend  the  "town  meeting"  you  can  see  how  im- 
possible it  would  be  for  a  real  discussion  to  take  place.  Imagine  trying  to 
argue  the  merits  of  any  proposal  with  a  group  of  5000  people.  It  can  be 
done  in  a  group  of  a  hundred  or  two,  but  not  with  thousands  who  are  all 
equally  interested.  Well,  then,  think  how  impossible  such  a  scheme  becomes 
with  cities  of  100,000,  500,000,  1,000,000.  Remember  that  there  are  nearly 
300  cities  in  America  larger  than  25,000  and  several  thousands  larger  than 
5,000. 

Now  many  people  who  give  real  thought  to  such  problems,  fear  the 
tendency  of  towns  to  grow  so  rapidly  into  cities  because  of  the  fact  that 
the  citizens  can  not  really  know  the  qualifications  of  the  people  they  select  to 
run  their  communities.    How  do  cities  select  their  officials? 

Well,  the  city  is  broken  up  into  districts  called  "wards,"  and  the  wards 
are  broken  up  into  districts  called  "precincts."  These  districts  choose  rep- 
resentatives called  "aldermen"  and  "councilmen,"  to  govern  the  city.  Each 
"ward"  is  allowed  to  elect  a  certain  number  of  aldermen,  say  one,  two,  or 
three,  whatever  number  is  decided  upon.  For  the  city  as  a  whole  a  Mayor 
is  chosen.  He  presides  over  the  city  council  of  aldermen  and  councilmen 
and  appoints  the  heads  of  the  different  departments, — the  department  of 
streets,  of  police,  fire,  health,  water,  etc.    Through  these  "heads"  he  also 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


149 


appoints  the  other  employees  of  the  city.  The  mayor  in  many  of  our  cities 
has  a  great  deal  of  power,  as  you  see. 

Do  the  people  of  the  wards  have  a  general  meeting  to  select  their  alder- 
men? No,  generally  not.  That  is  all  done  by  parties  and  the  politicians 
who  run  the  parties. 

City  government  in  America  has  for  decades  been  turned  over  to  political 
parties  and  professional  politicians.  These  are  trained  "experts"  in  the  busi- 
ness of  getting  votes. 

As  towns  grow  into  cities  and  the  proportion  of  his  fellow-townsmen  that 
any  one  person  really  knows  becomes  smaller  and  smaller  the  business  gov- 
ernment is  turned  over  more  and  more  to  people  we  call  politicians.  Do  not 
be  misled  by  that  name  ''politicians."  It  does  not  mean  the  same  thing  as 
''statesman' —  not  at  all.  A  person  who  earns  his  living  in  city  "politics" 
in  America  is  not  necessarily  a  trained  and  intelligent  expert  on  how  to  run 
the  affairs  of  the  city.  Instead,  if  he  is  to  be  successful  as  a  politician,  the 
qualification  he  needs  is  expertness  in  getting  votes  either  for  himself  or  for 
his  candidates. 

Now  it  is  very  important  to  understand  how  the  politicians  happen  to 
run  so  many  of  our  cities — and  also  how  the  mass  of  the  people  happen  to 
let  them  do  it.    Let  us  consider  the  matter  carefully. 

What  part  do  political  "parties"  play  in  city  politics? 

They  play  a  very  important  part.  Should  they?  Well  that  is  another 
matter.  Let  us  see — 

A  political  "party"  is  simply  a  group  of  people  that  have  the  same  ideas 
about  the  way  government  should  be  run.  "Parties"  began  in  America  in 
the  1790's,  in  connection  with  the  national  government  while  George  Wash- 
ington was  our  first  President.  The  Federalist  party  consisted  of  those 
people  who  believed  in  a  strong  Federal  or  central  government,  and  in  the 
rule  of  the  commercial  interests.  The  Republicans,  led  by  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, believed  that  more  of  the  land-owning  classes  should  be  represented. 
Later  the  "Democrats"  who  came  into  power  in  Andrew  Jackson's  time, 
the  1830's  say,  believed  that  the  rank  and  file  of  the  people  should  have  more 
to  do  with  selecting  officials  in  the  national  government.  Later  still,  the 
Democratic  party  came  to  comprise  those  people  who  did  not  believe  in  a 
protective  tariff;  and  the  members  of  the  new  Republican  party,  formed  in 
Abraham  Lincoln's  time,  in  the  1850's,  came  to  be  those  who  wanted  a 
high  protective  tariff.  Such  things  as  the  tariff,  and  the  question  of  whether 
"gold"  or  "silver"  would  be  the  best  basis  to  use  for  money — were  th^  things 
that  held  political  parties  together. 


150 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Should  national  issues  like  "the  tariff"  determine  how  people 
select  officials  to  run  the  government  in  a  local  community? 

What  one  thing  do  the  people  of  a  town  or  city  want  from  their  govern- 
ment? They  want  the  puhlic  affairs  of  the  town  run  efficiently  and  at  as 
low  a  cost  as  possible.  They  want  clean,  well-paved  streets,  well-kept 
parks  and  playgrounds,  pure  water,  and  ample  water  pressure  for  fire  pro- 
tection; they  want  to  be  protected  against  epidemics  and  disease,  and  they 
want  good  schools.  These  are  the  things  that  the  citizens  of  a  community 
desire  of  their  government. 

Is  it  more  probable  that  one  "political  party"  will  bring 
these  about  than  another? 

Because  of  their  beliefs,  is  it  likely  that  the  Republicans  will  bring  these 
things  about  better  than  the  Democrats,  or  vice-versa?  Do  you  see  any 
reason  why  American  cities  should  select  officials  by  means  of  the  same  politi- 
cal parties  that  dominate  the  national  and  state  governments?  They  do, 
though.    It  works  out  like  this : 

In  each  of  our  large  cities  there  are  very  big  and  complicated  political 
organizations.  Very  commonly  they  are  divided  as  national  parties  are 
into  Republicans  and  Democrats  with  other  minor  parties,  such  as  "munici- 
pal voters'  leagues,"  "good  government  associations,"  "citizens  party,"  and 
the  like,  mixed  in.  Each  large  party  has  a  "political  boss"  whose  power  is 
so  great  that  he  can  generally  dictate  who  is  to  be  nominated  for  "mayor" 
of  the  city.  If  his  candidate  is  elected,  he  can  then  dictate  to  whom  the 
appointive  offices  are  to  go.  Since  the  mayor  has  power  to  appoint  both 
the  heads  of  departments  and  the  minor  officials,  tremendous  power  falls 
into  the  hands  of  the  political  boss  who  put  through  his  election. 

Now  in  the  respective  wards  of  the  city  there  is  usually  a  "ward  boss" — 
a  lesser  political  light  who  works  for  the  party  and  for  his  chief,  the  boss 
of  the  city.  He  has  assistants  who  make  it  their  business  to  become  well 
acquainted  with  the  people  in  their  precincts  and  to  keep  them  informed 
about  political  matters.  The  parties  keep  card  catalogues  of  voters  with 
all  sorts  of  facts  about  them.  The  bosses  frequently  help  the  poorer  people 
of  their  neighborhoods  even  to  the  extent  of  supplying  them  with  coal  and 
wood  to  stave  off  the  harshness  of  winter;  they  give  them  entertainments  in 
halls  in  winter  and  picnics  in  summer.  In  many  ways  they  get  the  masses 
of  the  people  to  feel  that  they  are  interested  in  their  welfare.  Why?  So 
that  the  people  will  vote  their  way  in  the  elections,  of  course.  Do  you  see 
why  we  speak  of  "political  organizations/'  Do  you  see  how  well  organized 
they  are — so  well  indeed  that  from  the  chief  political  bosses  down  to  the 
workers  in  the  precincts  the  whole  machinery  of  getting  their  voters  out 
on  election  day  is  provided  for? 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


151 


Do  you  see  how  "political  bosses"  are  experts  in  getting  votes? 
Does  that  mean  they  are  also  experts  in  running  city  governmentf 
Just  because  they  can  elect  their  candidates,  does  that  insure  that  the 
streets,  water  system,  health  work,  schools,  etc.  will  be  well  run  ?   What  do 
you  think?    Debate  that  point  in  your  class. 

Why  are  the  politicians  so  eager  to  run  the  government? 

Is  it  just  because  they  enjoy  having  power?  No  doubt  some  people  do 
engage  in  "politics"  for  that  reason.  Occasionally  wealthy  men  and  women 
give  their  energies  to  trying  to  bring  about  efficient,  honest,  government  be- 
cause they  are  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  people ;  but  of  most  of  our 
professional  politicians  this  cannot  be  said.  Most  of  those  who  do  nothing 
but  engage  in  politics  are  in  that  profession  for  profit.  Most  of  them  are 
not  wealthy  men — they  earn  their  living  and  sometimes  wealth  by  being 
politicians."  How?  In  several  ways.  The  lesser  politicians  are  appointed 
to  offices  in  the  government,  of  course.  They  are  "clerks  of  court,"  or  em- 
ployees in  municipal  offices,  or  heads  of  departments,  or  what  not.  And 
wherever  possible  their  relatives  and  friends  are  appointed  to  government 
offices  too.  Do  you  suppose  the  latter  are  required  to  be  experts  in  their 
particular  lines? 

Others  in  the  political  organization  are  supported  by  the  "contributions" 
which  are  made  to  run  the  party.  These  contributions  come  in  small  and 
large  amounts  from  anyone  interested  in  having  the  party  win  the  election. 
It  has  been  proved  in  recent  years  that  many  municipal  employees  who  are 
appointed  to  office  by  political  bosses  are  compelled  to  pay  a  part  of  their 
incomes  into  the  strong  boxes  of  the  party.  Corporations,  that  need  help 
in  the  way  of  getting  new  laws  favorable  to  themselves  passed  make  "con- 
tributions" to  the  finances  of  the  party  in  power.  These  contributions  run 
into  thousands  of  dollars,  of  course,  and  enable  the  party  to  print  pamphlets, 
posters,  to  buy  advertising  in  newspapers  in  which  to  tell  the  merits  of 
their  candidates,  to  hire  party  workers,  to  pay  the  salaries  and  expenses  of 
the  bosses,  etc. 

Political  Parties  in  Large  Cities  Have  Controlled 
Government  Contracts  and  Franchises.  Why? 

More  than  this,  the  political  bosses  in  large  cities  have  tried  to  control 
government  contracts  and  franchises.  Do  you  recognize  what  a  business  our 
larger  cities  do  each  year?  Think  of  the  miles  of  new  paved  streets  that 
have  to  be  made  at  a  cost  of  several  thousand  dollars  per  mile.  Think  of 
the  miles  of  water  pipe  and  sewer  pipe  to  be  laid,  and  the  repairs  to  be 
made.  Work  like  this  is  "let  out  on  contract"  to  a  paving  contractor  or  a 
water-pipe  contractor.    Now  the  laws  generally  require  that  government 


152 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


contracts  be  advertised  in  the  papers,  that  they  then  be  "bid"  upon  by  several 
competing  contractors,  and  that  the  contract  be  given  to  the  company  mak- 
ing the  lowest  bid.  If  these  laws  were  really  followed,  the  city  would,  in 
the  long  run,  get  its  work  done  honestly,  efficiently,  and  economically.  But 
history  has  shown  that  the  opportunity  to  graft — that  is,  to  make  money 
dishonestly  from  government  contracts,  is  very  great,  and  that  many  poli- 
ticians have  made  use  of  it.  The  examples  are  so  frequent  both  in  earlier 
generations  and  in  our  own  time  that  w^e  must  face  the  question  of  whether 
it  is  going  on  today. 

EXAMPLES  OF  GRAFT  IN  GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS 

Let  us  study  some  examples  of  what  has  happened  in  the  handling  of 
government  contracts. 

.  .  An  abominable  ring  had  been  formed  in  the  Tammany  Society. 
It  acted  with  the  Democratic  party.  Indeed,  the  Tammany  Society  was 
the  Democratic  party  in  New^  York  City.  Its  leader  for  some  years  now^ 
was  William  M.  Tweed,  physically  a  hulking  man  about  45  years  of  age, 
whose  trade  after  he  had  left  off  chair  making,  in  which  he  had  failed 
disgracefully  as  a  result  of  outside  stock  speculations,  was  corrupt  politics. 
His  training  as  a  volunteer  fireman  and  in  ward  management  led  him  by 
degrees  to  the  responsible  position  of  grand  sachem  of  Tammany  Hall.  It 
was  very  plain  that  the  taxpayers  were  being  robbed  on  a  great  scale.  In 
1866  an  intelligent  observer  said  that  the  government  had  'fallen  into  com- 
plete contempt.'    Its  'disgraceful  character'  in  1867  was  'notorious'.  .  .  . 

"The  strength  of  the  'Ring'  was  founded  upon  the  manipulation  of  the 
lower  classes  of  the  population.  Very  genial  in  his  manners  and  voluble  of 
speech  Tweed  was  everywhere  hail  fellow  well  met.  He  stood  at  the  head 
of  a  paternal  organization  which  gave  work  to  the  unemployed,  aided  the 
sick  and  fed  the  hungry,  and  he  early  attached  to  himself  the  poor  and  ignor- 
ant classes  recruited  constantly  from  the  immigrant  ships  which  were  dis- 
charging their  cargoes  into  Castle  Garden.  In  the  days  preceding  each 
election  Irishmen  were  naturalized  in  troops.  The  Tammany  courts  were 
mills  to  grind  out  citizens  whom  Tweed's  henchmen  herded  and  marched 
up  to  the  polls  to  vote  for  his  candidates.  Much  of  this  naturalization  was 
plainly  illegal.  While  not  quite  one-half  of  the  whole  population  was 
foreign  born  three-fifths  of  the  voters  of  the  city  by  dint  of  the  activity  of 
the  naturalization  courts  were  natives  of  foreign  countries.  There  was 
false  regisration — scores  were  accredited  with  residence  in  houses  where  their 
names  were  unknown ;  men  voted  more  than  once  at  difierent  and  even  at 
the  same  polling  places  to  increase  the  'Ring's'  majorities.  Tabulators  of 
election  returns  cheated  in  the  count.  ... 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


153 


"Now  the  bandits  were  firmly  in  place,  ready  for  operations  larger  than 
any  they  had  yet  dared  to  undertake.  Their  authority  was  so  uncontrolled 
that  the  crudest  methods  sufficed.  If  some  one  had  performed  services  for 
the  city  which  he*  accounted  to  be  worth  $5,000  he  would  be  told  by  one 
of  'Slippery  Dick's'  agents  from  the  comptroller's  office  that  the  sum  could 
not  be  paid.  If,  however,  the  bill  should  be  raised  to  $55,000  he  could  have 
his  money  at  once.  Presented  with  the  warrant  he  was  asked  to  endorse 
it  over  to  one  of  Tweed's  stoolpigeons  when  he  would  receive  five  $1,000 
bills,  the  members  of  the  'Ring'  dividing  among  themselves  the  $50,000 
which  remained. 

"The  stealing  proceeded  on  an  imperial  scale.  Armories  for  the  state 
militia  were  held  to  have  cost  the  city  $3,200,000.  A  quarter  of  a  million 
dollars  covered  the  actual  expenditure  of  money  on  this  account.  Ten  lofts, 
mostly  located  over  old  stables,  had  been  rented  for  military  purposes  at  a 
charge  of  $85,000  and,  though  they  had  not  been  used,  an  additional  charge 
of  $463,064  was  made  for  keeping  them  in  repair.  Enough  chairs  were 
paid  for  at  $5  each  to  extend,  if  they  were  put  in  a  line,  for  a  distance  of 
seventeen  miles. 

"Upon  the  county  court  house,  $3,000,000  were  expended ;  the  'Ring' 
charged  the  taxpayers  upwards  of  $11,000,000  and  the  building  was  still 
far  from  complete.  A  man  named  Garvey  received  $2,870,464.06  for  his 
services  in  plastering  the  walls  of  this  and  other  municipal  edifices.  Carpets 
for  the  court  house  represented  an  outlay  of  $350,000.  Forty  old  chairs 
and  three  tables  had  cost  $179,929.60.  In  repairing  fixtures  through  a  firm 
headed  by  a  man  named  Keyser,  in  league  with  the  robbers,  $1,149,874.50 
had  been  expended.  Within  a  period  of  a  few  days  two  liverymen  were 
paid  $50,000  for  supplying  carriages  to  aldermen  wherein  they  might  be 
driven  to  funerals. 

"Asylums,  hospitals,  dispensaries  and  other  institutions  of  which  no  one 
had  ever  heard,  and  which  never  existed,  were  the  objects  of  largess  that 
found  its  way  into  the  pockets  of  the  brigands.  They  bought  real  estate, 
and  sold  it  to  the  city  at  exorbitant  sums.  They  owned  a  small  newspaper 
in  which  they  could  insert  municipal  advertising,  a  printing  house,  a  manu- 
facturing stationer's  plant,  chair  and  furniture  factories,  and  drew  profits 
from  other  business  enterprises  which  they  used  to  mulct  the  taxpayers.  .  .  . 

"As  a  Christmas  Day  offering  in  1870  Tweed  gave  $50,000  to  the  poor 
of  his  ward,  and  $1,000  to  each  of  a  number  of  aldermen  to  be  used  for  the 
purchase  of  coal  for  needy  families  in  their  respective  neighborhoods.  It 
was  even  proposed  by  the  New  York  Sun  that  a  statue  of  the  man  should 
be  erected  in  commemoration  of  his  services  and  benefactions,  and  an  associ- 
ation was  formed  to  sponsor  the  enterprise.   When  this  plan  came  to  naught, 


154 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


through  Tweed's  declining  the  honor,  the  Sun  suggested  the  erection  and 
endowment  of  a  'great  monument  of  public  charity'  to  be  known  as  the 
'Tweed  Hospital.' 

We  cannot  tell  the  interesting  story  here  of  how  Tweed  and  his  gang 
were  finally  exposed,  convicted  of  their  crimes,  and  imprisoned.  Tweed 
himself  was  sent  to  prison  and  died  there  within  a  year.  This  is  probably 
one  of  the  worst  examples  of  graft  in  municipal  government  that  the  country 
has  ever  seen.  But  it  has  not  been  the  only  case.  In  city  after  city  during 
the  past  twenty  years  political  "rings"  have  been  discovered  and  broken  up. 
We  have  the  space  to  give  only  one  or  two  more  examples  of  graft  in  gov- 
ernment. 

EXAMPLES  OF  CONTROL  OF  MUNICIPAL  FRANCHISES 

"Municipal  contracts"  are  not  the  only  things  the  political  bosses  are 
interested  in.  There  are  "franchises"  which  are  very  profitable,  too.  What 
is  a  "franchise"  ? 

A  franchise  is  simply  the  permission  to  use  public  property  in  some  way 
for  private  profit.  It  is  a  "concession."  For  example,  the  streets  of  the 
city  are  public  property — they  belong  to  everybody.  If  the  city  is  to  liave 
good  transportation,  street  cars  and  buses  must  be  installed.  Who  will  do 
it?  The  city  as  a  corporation?  In  some  places  the  people  through  their 
city  officials  have  organized  and  carried  on  successfully  the  street  railways 
of  the  city.  A  fine  example  of  that  was  the  municipal  railways  started  by 
Tom  L.  Johnson,  the  mayor  of  Cleveland.  Furthermore,  the  city  railways 
were  run  more  cheaply  under  private  ownership  than  in  other  places  where 
they  were  under  public  ownership. 

We  have  studied  examples  of  what  has  happened  in  American  munici- 
palities when  the  running  of  the  government  has  been  turned  over  to  the 
bosses  of  political  parties.  Do  you  think  such  a  scheme  promises  honest  and 
efficient  government? 

American  cities  are  practically  bankrupt.  They  are  having 
difficulty  in  raising  money  enough  to  carry  on  the  public  work. 

It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  American  cities  have  spent  much  more  money 
in  past  years  than  they  have  needed  to  spend.  They  have  become  spend- 
thrifts, recklessly  pouring  the  money  of  citizens  into  city  improvements, 
and  illegally  pouring  some  of  it  into  private  purses. 

How  DO  Cities  Raise  Money  to  Carry  on  Public  Affairs? 

1.  By  charging  fees. 

2.  By  charging  property  owners  taxes. 

3.  By  borrowing. 

1  Oberhoitzer,  Ellis  P.:  History  of  the  United  States  Since  the  Civil  War.  Vol. 
II,  pages  581;  583;  585-586;  588.    The  MacMillan  Company,  New  York,  1922. 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


155 


1.     FEES  FROM  PEOPLE  WHO  GET  CONCESSIONS  AND 
PRIVILEGES  FROM  THE  CITY. 

The  city  gets  a  small  income  each  year  from  such  incidental  matters  as 
fees  from  licenses  and  the  like.  Pedlars  must  pay  for  licenses  to  sell  from 
house  to  house;  owners  of  dogs  must  get  licenses  for  which  small  annual 
fees  must  be  paid.  To  marry  one  must  buy  a  wedding  license.  In  some 
places  automobiles  have  to  be  licensed  by  the  city  as  well  as  by  the  state. 
So  it  goes — small  fees  accumulate  in  the  city  treasury,  the  total,  however,  is 
small  compared  with  the  expense  of  running  the  city. 

2.      MOST  OF  THE  CITY's  CURRENT  EXPENSES   ARE  PAID  FROM 

TAXES 

Do  you  know  what  taxes  are?  A  person's  taxes  merely  represent  his 
share  in  the  expense  of  running  the  government.  There  is  nothing  mys- 
terious about  them  at  all.  Taxes  are  just  a  matter  of  simple  arithmetic. 
The  officials  estimate  how  much  it  is  going  to  cost  to  carry  on  all  the  work 
of  each  of  the  city  departments,  and  add  up  for  the  total.  Then  they  esti- 
mate how  much  the  property  of  that  city  is  worth,  a  pretty  difficult  thing 
to  do.  The  next  thing  to  find  out  is  what  percent  the  total  expense  is  of  the 
total  value  of  the  property.  That  per  cent  is  the  "tax  rate."  Each  prop- 
erty-owner pays  that  rate  of  tax  on  whatever  amount  of  property  he  has. 
Of  course  there  are  different  kinds  of  taxes  and  other  slight  sources  of  in- 
come that  complicate  the  procedure  a  little.  But  all  you  need  to  remember 
now  is  that  each  person  who  owns  land  or  property — a  house  and  lot,  furni- 
ture, machines,  and  the  like — pays  the  city  a  certain  per  cent  of  its  value 
each  year.  Suppose  your  house  were  estimated  by  the  city  "assessor"  to  be 
w^orth  $10,000  and  the  "tax  rate  were  3.25  per  cent  or,  as  commonly  ex- 
pressed, "$3.25  a  hundred."  You  would  in  that  case  pay  a  tax  of  $325.00 
into  the  city  treasury  to  help  run  the  affairs  of  the  city. 

Perhaps  you  are  about  to  ask,  "Does  that  mean  that  people  who  do  not 
own  land  or  property  do  not  help  pay  for  the  policemen,  the  firemen,  the 
street  department,  the  water  department,  etc?"  Yes,  practically  that.  It 
may  seem  queer,  but  that  is  the  way  we  raise  the  money  for  city  governments 
in  Am.erica — mostly  from  a  property  tax.  Of  course  even  if  a  person  rents 
a  house  or  an  apartment,  he  still  pays  a  tax  on  it  indirectly.  How?  Well, 
the  owner  of  the  land  and  building  undoubtedly  adds  to  the  rent  a  share  of 
the  tax  on  the  property  just  as  he  adds  the  other  expenses  of  upkeep. 

3.     AMERICAN   CITIES  DO   NOT  "PAY  AS  THEY  GO."    THEY  ARE 
BADLY  IN  DEBT. 

Now  the  taxes  which  the  city  gets  pay  the  "running  expenses"  of  the 
community.    They  pay  for  the  street  cleaning,  the  city  lighting,  for  carry- 


156 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


ing  on  the  parks  and  playgrounds,  the  schools,  etc.  But  they  do  not  pay 
for  new  buildings,  strange  as  that  may  seem  to  you.  Most  of  our  cities — in 
fact  all  of  our  larger  ones — do  not  pay  for  their  new  public  buildings  as  they 
put  them  up.  They  borrow  money  with  which  to  do  that  by  issuing  "bonds" 
and  selling  them.  The  city  officials  get  individuals  or  corporations  to  lend 
the  city  money — $100,  $500,  $1000,  or  even  larger  amounts.  For  this 
money  each  lender  receives  a  "bond"  in  return.  The  bond  is  simply  a  cer- 
tificate promising  that  the  city  will  repay  the  loan  at  the  end  of  a  certain 
number  of  years.  In  the  meantime  the  city  pays  the  lender  "interest"  at 
say  5  or  6  percent.  What  effect  does  this  interest  expense  have  on  the  taxes? 
Who  in  the  long  run  will  pay  this  interest? 

It  is  becoming  a  real  problem  for  American  cities  to  put  up  their  new 
buildings,  and  take  care  of  their  parks  and  playgrounds.  There  is  an  in- 
creasing demand  for  new  schools,  for  instance.  In  all  our  cities  the  length 
of  time  children  stay  in  school  is  becoming  so  much  larger  year  by  year  that 
millions  of  dollars  are  being  spent  annually  for  new  school  buildings  to 
house  them.  Students  of  the  problem  try  to  persuade  the  city  officials  to 
raise  enough  taxes  to  build  the  new  schools  that  are  demanded  for  the  new 
pupils.  If  they  could  do  that,  they  would  "pay  as  they  go"  instead  of  being 
always  in  debt.  As  it  is,  our  cities  are  piling  up  great  debts  of  millions  of 
dollars  each  year  or  so.  Thoughtful  people  are  worrying  about  the  matter 
and  are  becoming  afraid  that  there  will  be  a  great  financial  smash  some  day. 
If  things  keep  on  as  they  are  going,  it  looks  as  though  there  would  come  a 
time  when  the  "credit"  of  our  cities  will  not  be  "good"  and  people  will 
refuse  to  lend  them  money!  If  that  time  comes,  the  cities  will  have  to  pay 
as  they  go ! 

Now  why  is  it  that  they  do  not  pay  for  the  buildings  and  public  works 
out  of  taxes?  Well,  for  one  reason,  so  many  of  the  city  officials  are  either 
politicians  or  are  put  into  office  by  politicians.  They  are  hardly  to  be 
called  experts  in  government.  History  has  proved  that  they  do  not  regard 
the  study  of  municipal  government  as  a  matter  of  hard  work  or  serious 
thought. 

The  politicians  have  thrived  under  the  Mayor- 
Co  w«a7  Plan. 

The  reference  we  have  made  to  badly  governed  cities  have  applied  to 
cities  run  on  the  Mayor-Council  Plan  to  which  we  have  referred.  There 
are  hundreds  of  communities  governed  by  that  scheme — the  mayor  elected 
by  the  voters  of  the  city,  the  aldermen  and  councilmen  elected  by  the  voters 
in  the  wards  they  represent.  That  is  "representative  government"  of  the  old 
type.  People  in  America  formerly  thought  that  all  that  was  necessary  for 
good  government  was  that  all  the  people  should  vote  and  that  the  selection 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


15? 


of  good  officials  be  entrusted  to  their  judgment.  But  note  what  has  hap- 
pened through  the  history  of  our  using  this  method.  In  many  instances  the 
result  has  been  dishonest  government  controlled  by  the  politicians. 

Does  the  scheme  of  electing  city  executives  secure  for  the 
city  "experts"  in  government? 

The  worst  thing  about  the  Mayor-Council  plan  is  that  under  it  real 
experts  in  city  government  are  so  difficult  to  secure.  One  year  a  doctor 
would  be  the  mayor,  another  year  perhaps  a  leading  grocer,  or  real-estate 
man,  or  a  lawyer.  Furthermore,  it  is  very  difficult  to  persuade  really  suc- 
cessful men,  who  are  also  honest,  to  run  for  office.  The  salaries  have  been 
ridiculously  small — $2000  a  year,  for  example,  is  the  salary  a  mayor  in  an 
eastern  city  of  40,000  people — and  meanwhile  during  the  short  time  he  is. 
in  office  his  business  could  be  ruined. 

Let  us  grant,  however,  that  a  successful  doctor,  grocer,  real-estate  man,, 
or  what  not  was  selected.  He  is  elected  for  only  a  short  term  1,  2,  or  4 
years  at  most,  and  often  times  not  re-elected.  At  best  he  is  not  a  pro- 
fessionally trained  expert  in  government — he  is  an  expert  only  in  his  own 
chosen  profession. 

Arguments  like  these  were  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  certain  western 
cities  where  striking  changes  have  been  brought  about  in  the  city  govern- 
ment. 

Two  New  Kinds  of  Municipal  Government  Have 
Been  Experimented  with  in  American  Cities 

1.  The  Commission  Plan. 

2.  The  City-Manager  Plan. 

/.  the  commission  plan 
Galveston's  Experiment  Tried  in  Many  Places 
Twenty  years  ago  the  city  of  Galveston,  Texas,  had  a  terrible  flood.  In 
a  terrific  storm  on  the  gulf,  a  huge  tidal  wave  tore  over  the  sea-wall  that 
the  city  had  built  and  flooded  the  city.  Can  you  imagine  what  happened? 
Property  was  destroyed,  many  people  were  drowned ;  there  were  no  lights, 
streets  were  town  up  and  buildings  were  demolished  or  washed  from  their 
foundations.  Most  of  the  people  were  small  wage-earners  and  they  suf- 
fered severely  from  the  loss.  The  factories,  offices,  and  stores  where  they 
worked  were  ruined,  and  they  were  thrown  put  of  work.  Without  money 
the  business  men  couldn't  buy  and  sell.  Business  stopped  still.  What  was 
the  relief  agency  that  could  help  the  people  in  such  an  emergency?  Various 
outside  societies  and  individuals  could  and  did  donate  money  for  food  and 
clothing.  The  only  agency,  however,  that  could  clean  up  the  city  and  re- 
establish community  life  there  was  the  government.  But  the  men  whom  the 
people  had  chosen  to  run  the  city — chosen  by  the  very  Mayor-Council  plan 


158 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


we  have  been  discussing,  lacked  ability  to  meet  the  gigantic  problems  which 
faced  the  city.  They  didn't  know  how  to  re-establish  community  life.  So 
a  few  citizens  with  initiative  worked  out  a  new  plan  and  persuaded  the 
people  to  try  it  as  their  government. 

The  plan  was  this:  instead  of  allowing  political  parties  to  control  the 
city  in  their  own  interest,  their  idea  was  to  organize  a  commission  of  a  few 
trained  business  men  each  of  whom  was  to  manage  one  of  the  departments 
of  the  government  and  to  be  paid  a  decent  salary  for  doing  it. 

This  new  plan  of  government  was  adopted,  and  for  the  first  commission 
five  business  wen  were  elected.  From  long  practice  each  one  knew  how  to 
manage  a  business,  and  the  government  was  a  business!  It  was  small 
wonder,  then,  that  the  abilities  which  they  had  developed  in  their  own  busi- 
ness enabled  them  to  manage  a  city  department  rather  well.  Each  man  de- 
voted all  his  time  to  running  his  department  in  the  best  manner  possible. 
They  met  together  daily,  discussed  matters,  passed  the  necessary  laws,  and 
in  a  short  time  community  life  was  re-established  in  Galveston.  So  success- 
ful did  this  new  plan  of  government  prove  to  be  that  scores  of  cities  all  over 
the  country  adopted  it. 

But  there  were  two  great  defects  in  it.  The  first  was  that  it  lacked  a 
single  head.  Honest  as  these  men  were  and  sincere  in  their  desire  to  im- 
prove the  city  government,  responsibility  was  divided  between  them.  There 
was  no  one  head.  Each  could  and  did  blame  the  others  if  needed  improve- 
ments were  not  made.  And,  much  as  each  learned  about  his  own  depart- 
ment, he  could  not  possibly  know  the  needs  of  other  departments  so  well. 
The  department  needs  of  each  manager  were  to  him  the  most  important  of 
all  and  others  must  wait.  Naturally  quarrels  arose.  It  soon  became  evident 
that  cities  would  have  to  copy  the  plan  of  organization  of  private  businesses 
to  get  real  efficiency  and  economy  in  this  business  of  government.  A  great 
manufacturing  plant  does  not  have  five  presidents  equal  in  power  and 
authority, —  it  has  one  president.  At  the  same  time  it  is  aware  that  several 
heads  are  better  than  one  head,  so  it  provides  that  a  group  of  men  shall  be 
elected  as  directors.  They  are  not  expected  to  manage  departments  within 
the  plant:  they  decide  policies,  make  plans,  and  discuss  ways  in  which  the 
business  might  be  improved.  The  president  whom  they  choose  is  the  expert 
who  really  manages  all  the  departments;  it  is  he  who  carries  out  the  plans 
and  policies  of  the  directors.  But  he  selects  others  to  help  him ;  he  places  one 
employee,  the  superintendent,  in  charge  of  producing  the  articles  manufac- 
tured by  the  company ;  he  makes  another  responsible  for  selling  their  goods ; 
another  is  placed  in  charge  of  advertising,  etc.  All  report  to  the  president, 
however,  and  secure  approval  of  their  plans  from  him.  He  is  the  general, 
the  field  marshall  of  the  army  of  workers,  while  they  are  the  captains. 
Furthermore,  each  captain  has  lieutenants,  the  foremen  and  assistants.  Under 
them  is  the  great  rank  and  file  of  workers  and  salesmen. 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


159 


This  IS  the  scheme  on  which  a  business  organization  is  built,  and  cities 
have  recently  been  experimenting  with  it  in  carrying  on  government.  The 
greatest  weakness  of  the  Mayor-Council  plan  is  that  under  it  you  do  not 
choose  executives  trained  and  experienced  in  city  government.  Now  the 
job  of  city  executive  is  so  gigantic  that  training  and  long  experience  are  nec- 
essary to  do  it  well.  You  may  elect  honest  and  well-meaning  men  under  the 
Mayor-Council  plan  or  under  the  Commission  plan,  but  you  rarely  get  and 
keep  in  office  under  either  of  those  plans  really  efficient  city  executives. 

When  another  great  crisis  came  in  an  American  city,  therefore,  the  way 
was  open  for  a  real  experiment  in  city  government. 

II.     THE  CITY-MANAGER  PLAN 

Dayton,  Ohio,  made  the  first  experiment 

Dayton,  Ohio,  was  flooded  in  1913.  As  in  Galveston,  the  machinery 
of  community  life  simply  broke  down.  The  political  government  was  un- 
able to  cope  with  the  emergency.  Again  business  men  stepped  into  the 
breech — this  time  not  to  run  the  city  departments  themselves.  They  pro- 
ceeded to  apply  to  city  government  exactly  the  principles  they  worked  out  in 
their  own  businesses. 

They  organized  a  commission  but  provided  that  this  commission  was  to 
serve  only  as  a  city  board  of  directors.  Its  tasks  were:  (1.)  to  make  laws; 
(2.)  to  choose  and  appoint  a  president  or  general  manager;  and  (3)  to  make 
plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  city. 

The  commission  thus  elected  really  "made  history"  at  an  astonishing  rate. 
For  example,  when  the  question  of  selecting  a  "city  manager"  came  up, 
what  do  you  suppose  they  did?  Instead  of  acting  on  the  theory  that  some 
Daytonite  should  be  made  manager,  they  sent  out  inquiries  to  competent 
judges  all  over  the  United  States,  asking  for  recommendations  as  to  the  one 
who  was  best  fitted  for  that  particular  task. 

To  whom  do  you  think  it  turned  out  that  they  first  offered  the  position  ? 
The  man  who  had  built  the  world's  greatest  canal — the  Panama  Canal, 
General  George  W.  Goethals  was  an  army  engineer  who,  in  the  face  of 
great  obstacles  had  carried  through  the  digging  of  that  great  canal  across 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  He,  however,  was  forced  to  decline  the  offer. 
Eventually  they  chose  Mr.  Henry  Waite,  who  besides  being  an  engineer  of 
wide  experience,  had  been  city  engineer  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  for  a  number  of 
years.  Since  that  time  many  cities  have  chosen  engineers  as  their  city  man- 
agers. 

Do  you  see  why  a  man  with  engineering  training  would  be  particularly 
well  fitted  to  manage  the  business  of  a  city  where  over  a  million  dollars  a 
year  is  expended. 


160 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


Examples  of  economy  under  the  City-Manager  plan 

What  happened  under  the  new  plan  in  Dayton?  For  the  first  time  city 
business  was  run  on  business  principles.  Supplies,  instead  of  being  purchased 
by  each  department  head  at  retail  prices  from  favored  'friends'  were  now 
purchased  at  wholesale  prices  by  the  city  manager.  One  of  his  most  im- 
portant tasks  was  to  plan  the  buying  and  selling  for  the  city  departments. 
He  had  to  plan  how  the  money  could  best  be  raised,  and  where  he  could  buy 
the  best  article  at  the  cheapest  possible  price. 

Under  the  new  plan  employees  were  not  to  be  chosen  because  of  political 
"pull."  Merit  as  shown  by  examination  was  the  basis  of  appointment.  City 
officials  and  employers  were  chosen  for  their  ability  and  qualifications,  and 
they  were  kept  in  office  as  long  as  they  were  efficient.  Thus  Dayton  organ- 
ized government  on  strictly  business  principles.  To  see  that  it  was  so  run, 
it  paid  the  manager  a  salary  of  $12,500.  He  was  a  man  of  ability,  one  who 
would  probably  have  been  worth  several  times  that  sum  to  any  business. 

Does  such  a  salary  seem  too  much  for  the  manager  of  a  firm  (in  this 
case  the  government)  doing  an  annual  business  of  $1,000,000?  Should  we 
consider  this  question  from  the  point  of  view  of  paying  a  city  employee  over 
$40  a  day,  or  should  we  consider  it  in  terms  of  what  a  man  of  great  ability 
can  do  to  manage  the  city  business  more  efficiently?  It  is  said  that  Mr. 
Waite  saved  the  city  of  Dayton  several  times  the  amount  of  his  salary  in 
the  first  four  months  he  was  city  manager. 

How  did  he  do  it?  One  way  was  through  his  careful  management  of 
the  purchasing  of  city  supplies. 

A  few  examples  will  serve  to  show  the  advantages  of  having  the  purch- 
asing done  by  an  experienced  buyer.  In  the  following  list^  the  Dayton 
wholesale  prices  obtained  by  Mr.  Waite  in  1914  are  set  against  retail  prices 
paid  in  former  years : 


Mayor-Council  Plan 
1913  and  earlier 

City-Manager  Plan 
1914 

Floor  oil 

Typewriter  ribbons 
Carbon  paper 
Paper  clips 
Flash  lights 
Yellow  second  sheets 

Cup  grease 

Rubber  bands 
Rough  soap 

$1.25  gallon 
,75  each 

3.00-4.00  for  100  sheets 

.80  to  1.20  per  1000 
2.50  each 

1.00  to  1.10  per  1000 
I  .10    per    lb.    in  10-lb. 
\  cans. 

]  .08    per    lb.    in  25-lb. 
'  cans. 

4,00  per  lb.  in  J4  or 

lb,  lots, 
8.75  per  1000  lbs.  in  3^ 

bbl,  lots. 

$.12  gallon 
.25  each 

.65  for  100  sheets 
,23  per  1000 
.95  each 
.28  per  1000 

3^c    lb.,    purchased  by 
bbl. 

$1.26  per  lb.,  in  whole- 
sale lots. 

$4.50  per  1000  lbs.  in 
wholesale  lots. 

iRightor,  C,  E.:  City  Manager  in  Dayton,  pages  195-196.  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, New  York,  1919. 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


161 


Bear  in  mind  that  these  differences  are  typical,  the  items  were  chosen  at 
random. 

Take,  for  example,  the  agreement  that  was  made  for  gasoline  on  August 
1,  1915,  to  extend  during  the  next  twelve  months.  It  called  for  the  purchase 
of  not  less  than  60,000  and  not  more  than  90,000  gallons  at  a  price  of  9 
cents  per  gallon — two  cents  below  the  then  prevailing  market  price.  Be- 
fore the  life  of  this  contract  had  expired,  the  price  of  gasoline  had  risen  to 
26  cents.    The  agreement  saved  the  city  about  $9,000.^ 

"Even  more  important,  from  the  point  of  view  of  economy  and  effective 
administration,  is  the  ability  of  the  public  officials  to  look  ahead  with  a 
single  eye  to  future  conditions,  to  improvements  which  have  been  planned, 
and  to  anticipate  market  conditions  for  the  coming  months.  During  the  past 
three  years  an  extensive  program  of  permanent  improvements  has  been  under 
way,  and  acting  through  the  purchasing  office,  large  amounts  of  construction 
material  were  purchased  several  months  in  advance  of  the  time  they  were 
to  be  required.  Why?  Because  it  was  apparent  early  in  1915  that  prices 
were  about  tp  increase.  Plans  were  made  to  buy  and  store  the  materials 
which  were  to  be  required,  so  as  to  sell  them  later  to  the  successful  contract- 
ors at  the  prices  then  prevailing.  In  October,  1915,  800  tons  of  re-inforc- 
ing  steel  were  purchased  at  $27.00  per  ton.  By  the  time  the  bridges  for 
which  the  steel  was  needed  were  begun,  the  market  price  of  steel  had  gone 
to  $69.00.  Fifty-eight  thousand  three  hundred  barrels  of  cement,  costing 
$1.37  net  per  barrel  when  purchased  by  the  city  in  1915,  were  disposed  of 
to  contractors  on  the  Fifth  St.,  Webster  St.,  and  Keowee  St.  bridges  at  a 
much  higher  price  at  time  of  construction.  Sewer  pipe  was  bought  84  per 
cent  off  the  list  price,  making  a  saving  of  $40  per  car  or  an  estimated  gross 
saving  of  $8,000.  Waterpipe  was  purchased  in  1914  to  the  amount  of  6,278 
tons  by  a  long-term  contract,  at  $20.40  per  ton,  and  by  the  time  it  was  all 
laid  the  price  had  risen  to  over  $25.  This  low  price  on  water  pipe  was  not 
equaled  or  bettered  by  any  municipality  that  year.  These  figures  are  but 
an  evidence  of  the  foresight  of  the  present  administration  in  doing  the  city's 
business  with  a  view  to  protecting  the  taxpayer's  pocket-book."^ 

Another  example  of  saving  was  in  Mr.  Waite's  efficiency  economics  in 
city  service.  For  example,  compare  the  cost  of  collecting  garbage  for  the 
years  1911,  1912,  and  1913,  under  the  Mayor-Council  plan,  with  the  cost 
during  1914,  1915,  and  1916  under  the  City  Manager  plan,  (see  page  162.) 
Notice  that  although  the  number  of  tons  collected  from  1914-1916  is  much 
greater,  the  cost  per  ton  is  notably  less. 


iRightor,  C.  E.:  Op.  cit.,  page  197. 
2  Ibid.,  pages  198-199, 


162 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 
ECONOMY  IN  GARBAGE  COLLECTION^ 


Yeai 


Tons  collected 


1911 
1912 
1913 


1914 
1915 
1916 


Cost  per  ton 


MAYOR-COUNCIL  PLAN 


9,866 
9,910 
10,140 


$2.84 

2 

2.51 


84  ) 

■     I  Average  cost  3 
^  $2.65 


years. 


CITY-MANAGER  PLAN 


12,627 

15,506 
16,334 


2.07 
1.60 
1.55  ) 


/  Average  cost  3  years. 
$1.74 


Also  compare  the  cost  of  street  cleaning  and  ash  and  rubbish  collection 
under  both  plans  for  the  same  periods.^ 

MAYOR-COUNCIL  PLAN 


Year  Cost 

1911  $63,400 

1912  69,300 

1913  69.400  $202,100 

CITY-MANAGER  PLAN 

Year  Cost 

1914  69,800 

1915  58,300 

1916  55,600  $183,700 


Actual  saving  $18,400 

In  choosing  city-managers  municipalities  scour  the  country 
for  the  best  persons. 

One  of  the  most  important  things  about  the  new  plan  is  that  the  execu- 
tive of  the  city  is  appointed  regardless  of  whether  he  is  a  resident  of  the  com- 
munity or  not.  Generally  he  is  not,  as  a  matter  of  fact.  The  commission 
which  governs  the  city  advertises  far  and  wide  for  the  best  trained  and  ex- 
perienced man  who  will  come  for  the  salary  they  are  able  to  pay.  And  it  is 
significant  that  municipalities  are  paying  several  times  as  large  salaries  as 
they  used  to  pay  their  "mayors."  Why  not?  They  are  employing  an  execu- 
tive trained  and  experienced  in  governing  a  municipality — not  a  "lay" 
citizen  who  has  never  done  it  before  and  never  will  do  it  again.  Further- 
more, the  tendency  is  to  keep  a  city-manager  on  the  job  as  long  as  he  is 
efficient  or  as  long  as  he  w^ill  stay.  One  difficulty,  of  course,  is  that  a  man 
successful  in  a  small  city  is  lured  away  to  a  larger  one  because  the  latter 
can  pay  a  larger  salary.  This  in  itself  is  forcing  up  salaries  for  city  man- 
agers and  will  eventually  attract  capable  men  into  the  work. 

How  does  the  city-mnager  scheme  of  organizing  the  departments  of  the 
city  government  differ  from  the  mayor-council  scheme?  The  two  charts  of 
Figs.  35  and  36  will  tell  you  that  clearly. 


iRightor,  C.  E. :  Op.  cit.,  page  136. 
2  Ibid.,  page  147. 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 

THE  CITY-MANAGER  PLAN 
as  practiced  in  Clinton^ 

I 


163 


The  Voters  of  Clinton  Select 


A  CITY  COMMISSION  OF  FIVE  MEMBERS 

This  Commission  Makes  the  Laws. 


But  it  delegates  the  business  of  enforcing  the  laws 
and  carrying  on  the  various  services  of  the  city  to 
 I  


A  CITY  MANAGER 

Appointed  by  the  Commission  and  given  full 
authority  to  manage  the  business  of  the  city. 

HIS  DUTIES  are: 

1.  To  enforce  the  laws. 

2.  To  attend  meetings  of  the  Commission  and  recommend  necessary  measures.  (He 
has  no  vote  in  the  commission.) 

3.  To  appoint  and  direct  all  city  employees,  subject  to  civil  service  examinations. 

4.  To  act  as  Purchasing  Agent. 

5.  To  draw  up  the  city  budget  for  approval  by  the  commission. 


His  subordinates  are  grouped  under  five  main  departments.  The  Director  of  each 
Department  is  appointed  by,  and  works  under  the  direction  of,  the  City  Manager, 


Department  of  Public  Safety 

includes 
Police  Division, 
Fire  Division, 
Building  Inspection. 


Department  of  Finance 

includes 
Accounting, 
Licenses, 
Assessments, 
Receipts,  and 

Expenditures 
Purchase  of  Supplies. 


Department  of  Law 

includes 

Bureau  for  drawing  up 

needed  laws. 
Bureau  to  represent  city 

in  Court, 
Bureau  to  give  Advice. 


Department  of  Public  Welfare 

includes 
Legal  aid  to  citizens 

in  need. 
Free  Employment 

Bureau, 
Charities  Board, 
Health  Division, 
Medical  Inspection, 
Sanitation, 
Food  Inspection, 
Recreation  Division, 
Bureau  of  Control  of 

Delinquents, 
Division  of  Parks. 


Department  of  Public  Service 

includes 

Engineering  Division. 

Sewers,  and  Street  Light- 
ing Division, 

Ash    and    Garbage  Re- 
moval, 

Street  Cleaning, 

Street  Repairir^g, 

I5ureau  of  Bridges, 

Transportation  Bureau, 

Water  Division, 

Division    of   Lands  and 
Buildings, 

Bureau    of  Motor 
Vehicles, 

Bureau  of  Markets. 


  Fig.  35 

1  Clinton  is  an  imaginary  city  organization 


similar  to  Dayton,  O. 


164 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


SPRINGFIELD'S   PRESENT  ORGANIZATION 


e-iCWOlMOUSt  >lfil«l  7-ecwRD  OF  HEALTH     J2-CITY  COLLECTOR  17-BOARO  OF  APPEAL        ie-ClTY  PKVaWAN        iT-MUPtd  COMMITTEE     JJ-OML  IttSPtCTOR  ' 
3<ITY  PPOPERTT  COMT.  ft-8<XIID  OF  PU8.W0HM  M-ClTY  AUDITOR      1»-WATES  BOARD     '       23-BOAftO  ON  CLAIPM      2«-C0MT.  ON  POLtJ^WIRM  M-COliT,  ON  SISN4 

Complexity  of  the  Bicameral  Plan  in  Springfield,  Mass.    Chart  reprinted 
by  courtesy  of  the  Springfield  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research. 

Fig.' 361 

Note  these  points  about  the  two  schemes :  ( 1 )  The  simplicity  and  def- 
initeness  of  the  authority  given  different  departments  by  the  City  Manager 
plan,  and  the  complexity  of  the  Mayor-Council  plan.  (2)  How  bureaus 
and  departments  are  combined  and  simplified  so  as  to  bring  efficiency  and 
economy. 

As  a  result  of  your  study  be  ready  to  defend  either  one  plan  or  the  other 
for  your  city.  Get  up  a  list  of  arguments  in  favor  of  the  plan  you  propose 
and  be  ready  to  meet  the  arguments  of  those  on  the  other  side. 

Here  is  an  abstract  from  a  speech  of  the  City  Manager  of  Clinton  to  a 
school  class  which  tells  some  of  the  things  he  does  in  running  the  public 
affairs  of  his  city. 

"Perhaps  you  want  to  know  exactly  what  I  do.  Well,  in  the  first  place 
I  have  to  oversee  the  work  of  each  department,  see  that  it  is  managed  prop- 
erly, and  then  plan  for  improvements  where  needed.  For  example,  to 
improve  the  health  of  our  community  we  maintain  two  men  who  do  nothing 
but  investigate  reports  and  complaints  about  unhealthful  conditions  in  the 
city.  Over  500  such  complaints  were  investigated  and  health  conditions 
protected  this  last  year.   We  maintain  a  city  physician  to  care  for  poor  citi- 

iMabie,  E.  C. :  City  Manager  Plan  of  Government,  page  144.  The  H.  W.  Wilson 
Company,  New  York.  1918. 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES  165 

zens  who  are  unable  to  pay  the  cost  of  medical  service.  He  reported  to  me 
that  last  year  he  made  over  2000  such  visits  to  poor  people  that  were  sick. 
Clinton  also  maintains  two  school  physicians  and  two  school  nurses.  It  is 
their  task  to  look  after  your  health  and  that  of  your  brothers  and  sisters 
and  your  friends.  All  of  you  have  been  examined  and  perhaps  helped  by 
them.  We  also  hire  a  milk  and  food  inspector  to  safeguard  our-  food  supply, 
a  plumbing  inspector  to  see  that  all  plumbing  is  in  order,  and  a  bacteriolo- 
gist to  study  contagious  diseases  and  to  recommend  ways  and  means  of  pre- 
venting such  diseases.  The  care  of  the  teeth,  particularly  of  school  children, 
is  provided  for,  and  a  dispensary  for  tubercular  people  is  also  maintained 
by  the  health  division. 

"This  is  but  one  aspect  of  the  work  of  your  community  Department  of 
Public  Welfare.  Other  agencies  exist  that  provide  for  recreation,  for 
assistance  to  the  poor  of  the  city,  for  the  reformation  of  prisoners  who  have 
been  sentenced  for  violating  our  city  laws.  This  bureau  is  doing  much  for 
offenders  by  attempting  to  help  these  unfortunate  people  get  back  their  self-- 
respect.  Useful  public  work  is  found  for  those  sentenced  to  prison;  and 
there  is  a  board  whose  task  is  to  help  them  get  jobs  where  they  can  earn  a 
living  when  they  get  out  of  prison.  It  also  looks  out  for  them  in  every  other 
way  possible.  This  leads  me  to  say  that  within  the  last,  year  a  free  employ- 
ment bureau  has  been  started.  Unfortunately  there  is  a  great  deal  of  un- 
employment in  our  city.  Much  suffering  exists  because  it  is  so  difficult  to 
get  the  employer  and  the  worker  to  co-operate.  Many  people  out  of  work 
cannot  even  pay  the  few  dollars  that  private  employment  agencies  charge 
for  procuring  a  job.  Moreover  such  agencies  oftentimes  cheat  the  workers, 
especially  the  ignorant  ones.  So  the  city  has  undertaken  the  work  of  an 
employment  bureau.  In  the  past  year  over  2,000  unemployed  have  been 
placed  in  jobs  without  any  fee  for  the  service. 

''This  is  only  a  bare  outline  of  what  one  of  the  five  major  divisions  of 
your  city  government  does.  But  isn't  it  a  fine  example  of  community  co- 
operation? Doesn't  it  show  a  new  spirit  in  city  life?  Instead  of  believing 
that  each  one  should  take  care  of  himself  and  should  not  pay  to  help  educate 
other  people's  children,  to  support  other  citizens  out  of  work,  to  help  im- 
prove the  health,  safety,  and  beauty  of  other  parts  of  our  community,  Ameri- 
can citizens  today  are  joining  hands  to  accomplish  countless  things  through 
co-operation.  In  past  years  many  of  these  things  were  left  undone,  particu- 
larly for  the  poorer  citizens,  because  of  lack  of  funds.  And  they  don't  cost 
so  much  either  if  you  consider  the  value  of  the  return  in  the  health,  safety 
and  beauty  of  your  community.  Cities  spend  about  20  to  22  cents  of  every 
dollar  that  they  raise,  on  health,  protection  of  the  property  and  lives  of  the 
citizens,  and  upon  the  care  of  parks  and  playgrounds.  Each  citizen  averages 
to  pay  about  a  dollar  for  these  things.    Is  such  protection  worth  while? 


166 


TOWN  AND  CITY  LIFE  IN  AMERICA 


"In  Other  departments  similar  work  is  going  on.  Streets  are  being  paved 
and  repaired,  the  water  supply  of  the  city  maintained  and  improved,  sewers 
dug  and  kept  in  repair,  streets  cleaned  and  lighted,  garbage  and  ashes  col- 
lected and  disposed  of  regularly,  streets  oiled  to  lay  the  dust  in  the  summer, 
and  snow  and  ice  removed  from  them  in  the  winter.  About  seventy-five 
policemen  are  employed  by  the  city.  Several  are  traffic  officers  at  important 
centers  in  the  business  section.  They  regulate  the  traffic  and  protec't  people 
on  foot  at  dangerous  crossings.  Several  are  detectives  assigned  to  detection 
and  prevention  of  crime;  three  are  also  park  policemen,  but  the  majority  are 
patrolmen.  What  do  they  do  to  improve  community  life?  Well,  they  are 
constantly  patrolling  a  certain  district  of  the  city,  alert  for  disturbance  and 
law-breaking;  but  in  addition  they  help  to  improve  community  life  by  re- 
porting damaged  city  property,  rendering  aid  in  accidents  and  watching  and 
reporting  outbreaks  of  fire.  As  much  emphasis  today  is  being  placed  upon 
fire  prevention  as  upon  putting  fires  out  after  the  Fire  Department  has 
been  called.  To  this,  end  new  buildings  are  inspected  to  make  certain  that 
city  building  laws  in  respect  to  plumbing,  gas  fixtures,  electric  wiring, 
lighting,  and  ventilation  are  obeyed.  The  chief  of  the  Fire  Department  re- 
ported to  me  that  last  year  over  2500  such  inspections  were  made.  The 
work  of  educating  people  to  prevent  fire  is  carried  on  not  only  through  in- 
spections by  the  Fire  Department,  but  by  advertising,  lectures,  and  printed 
pamphlets — all  preaching  the  causes  of  fires  and  ways  to  prevent  them. 
Carelessness  of  smokers  in  dropping  lighted  matches,  cigars,  and  cigarettes 
among  papers,  oily  rags  dropped  in  closets,  failure  to  screen  fire  places,  and 
defective  wiring  cause  a  large  proportion  of  fires.  You  may  have  heard 
how  Mrs.  O'Leary's  cow  kicked  over  a  lantern  in  a  barn  in  1871  and  burned 
up  a  large  part  of  Chicago. 

*'One  of  the  most  important  duties  of  a  manager  of  a  business  is  to  make 
reports  to  his  'owners.'  The*people  of  Clinton  are  the  owners  of  this  busi- 
ness of  Clinton's  government.  Unfortunately  government  business  more 
often  than  not  doesn't  arouse  the  interest  of  the  people  unless  it  goes  to 
pieces.  Too  often  it  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  untrustworthy  men  who 
mismanage  city  work  and  use  city  money  for  selfish  purposes.  They  have 
gotten  rich  out  of  putting  up  government  buildings  and  promoting  other 
government  work.  All  this  has'  been  permitted  because  of  the  lack  of  inter- 
est on  the  part  of  our  people.  Do  you  see  then  that  the  greatest  task  of  all 
of  us  as  citizens  is  to  do  what  we  can  to  make  community  affairs  honest  and 
efficient  by  showing  an  active  interest  in  them? 

First  of  all,  citizens  should  demand  to  know  the  facts  about  their  city. 
Every  stockholder  in  a  private  business  gets  a  printed  report  which  gives  all 
the  facts  about  the  business  in  which  he  owns  shares.  We  in  Clinton  do 
the  same  thing  for  the  shareholders  of  the  city  corporation.  We  prepare  an 
interesting  booklet  each  year  and  mail  one  to  each  family.    This  booklet  con- 


GOOD  GOVERNMENT  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 


167 


tains  simple  descriptions  of  the  work  that  the  city  is  doing,  detailed  examples 
of  the  kinds  of  things  I  have  been  describing  to  you,  and  pictures  and  charts 
that  also  illustrate  the  city  business.  Do  you  see  why  such  booklets  are  im- 
portant ? 

"Are  there  other  ways  of  informing  the  people  in  Clinton  about  their  com- 
munity? Yes,  the  newspapers  help  a  great  deal.  Every  day  reporters  call 
at  the  office  of  the  City  Manager  and  we  give  them  reports  of  the  city's 
work. 

"Another  way  to  inform  the  people  is  through  exhibits.  When  a  health 
campaign  is  on,  the  city  has  an  exhibit  of  the  health  work.  The  health  divi- 
sions prepare  charts,  maps,  pictures — they  use  any  and  all  concrete  ways  of 
telling  Clinton  citizens  about  the  health  of  their  city.  When  Fire  Pre- 
vention week  comes  the  Fire  Division  takes  charge  and  in  similar  ways  gives 
the  people  pictures  of  the  fire  dangers  among  them  and  shows  them  how  to 
prevent  fires.  During  the  year  all  the  important  city  services  are  exhibited 
to  the  people  in  this  way.  We  are  thus  trying  to  inform  the  community 
about  itself  and  wake  up  the  citizens  to  an  intelligent  interest  in  what  is  be- 
ing done.  We  also  want  to  do  everything  possible  to  make  Clinton  a 
better  community.  I  never  lose  the  opportunity,  if  it  is  possible,  to  tell  any 
group  of  people  in  CHnton — whether  it  be  school  pupils,  the  Commercial 
Club,  the  Woman's  Club,  or  some  other  congregation — about  our  city  busi- 
ness, and  to  seek  their  aid  in  making  our  city  a  better  place  to  live  in."^ 


EXERCISE 

1.  Debate  the  question  :    Resolved,  that  all  American  cities  should  adopt 
the  city  manager  plan  of  government. 

2.  Imagine  that  the  question  of  adopting  the  city  manager  plan  is  up  for 
discussion  in  your  city.    What  arguments  for  and  against  the  proposition  • 
would  various  citizens  and  organizations  use." 

3.  Review  the  entire  pamphlet,  using  questions,  pages  8-10  and  follow 
the  suggestions  for  this  Section  in  the  Schedule  of  Lessons. 

1  An  imaginary  speech  but  based  upon  facts  taken  from  various  city  reports. 


A  SUGGESTED  SCHEDULE  OF  LESSONS 


To  the  Teacher:  VERY  IMPORTANT.  The  study 
of  this  pamphlet  should  not  take  more  than  35-4.0  school 
exercises  because  about  30-35  lessons  must  be  reserved 
for  the  last  of  the  four  pamphlets  of  this  grade.  For 
directions,  see  schedule  of  lessons,  pamphlets  No.  1  and 
No.  2  and  To  the  Teacher,  opposite  page  1  of  this 
pamphlet. 

Lesson 
No. 

I,  2.  Read  and  discuss  Section  I:    What  Kind  of  a  Toivn  Do  You  Live  In? 

pages  1-10.  Glance  through  the  entire  pamphlet  and  spend  one  class 
period  discussing  briefly  the  questions  on  pages  8-10.  If  possible,  give 
a  brief  written  test  selecting  questions  from  this  list  in  order  to  find 
out  what  the  class  knows  about  their  community  before  studying  it  in 
detail.  (Note:  Use  these  questions  for  revieiv  uohen  you  finish  the 
pamphlet.) 

3,  4.  Organize  your  class  according  to  the  suggestions  given  in  Section  II: 

How  to  Organize  Your  Class  to  Make  a  Survey  of  Your  Own  Com- 
munity, pages  11-15.    (about  two  lessons.) 

5,  6,  7.*  Devote  about  three  class  periods  to  Section  III:  Some  Map-making 
Exercises  to  Acquaint  You  With  the  General  Features  of  Your  Com- 
munity, pages  16-17. 

8,  9,  10.  Review  in  one  lesson,  pages  19-36  of  your  second  pamphlet:  The  City 
and  Key  Industries.  Then  read  iand  discuss  Section  IV  of  this  pamphlet: 
Small  Toivn  vs.  Large  City,  pages  18-26.  Do  the  graph  exercise  on 
page  19.  Have  pupils  do  the  exercise  on  the  history  of  their  community 
in  order  to  answer  the  questions  on  page  22.  Debate  the  question:  Re- 
solved, that  the  small  town  is  a  more  desirable  place  to  live  in  than 
the  large  city,    (about  three  lessons  on  this  Section.) 

II.  If  possible  organize  your  civic  laboratory  along  the  lines  suggested  in 
Section  V,  spending  one  lesson  on  deciding  what  shall  be  done  and 
how  the  work  will  be  carried  on.    (See  pages  27-31.) 

12,  13.  Devote  two  days  to  the  exercises  on  Section  VI:  The  Industries  and  the 

People  of  a  Community,  pages  32-34. 

14.  Spend  one  class  period  reviewing  questions  suggested  in  Section  VII 
and  in  making  a  backboard  summary  of  the  chief  features  of  community 
life  discussed  in  Sections  I-VI,  or  on  Debate  No.  2,  page  35. 

15,  16,  17,  Read  and  take  the  test  on  Section  VIII:  The  Houses  People  Live  In, 
18.  pages  36-62,  (about  two  lessons.)  Organize  the  class  as  a  City  Plan- 
ning Conference,  (See  suggestions  on  pages  57-60.)  This  Conference 
should  discuss  housing  and  city  planning  based  upon  a  survey  of  con- 
ditions in  their  city.  The  Conference  should  also  result  in  a  list  of 
specific  recommendations  for  improving  their  own  community,  (about 
two  lessons.) 


Note:  Due  to  an  error  the  Section  numbers  for  Health  and  Police  in 
part  of  the  pamphlets  are  numbered  incorrectly.  They  should 
be  Sections  IX  and  X. 


SCHEDULE  OF  LESSONS 


169 


19,  20,  21,     Read  and  discuss  Section  IX:    What  Makes  a  Healthy  Community?, 

22.  pages  63-81.  (about  two  lessons.)  Organize  your  class  as  The  Board 
of  Health  called  upon  by  the  citizens  to  write  a  report  on  "How  to  Im- 
prove Health  Conditions  in  Our  City."  Have  each  pupil  prepare  a  3-5 
page  report  on  this  topic.  (Use  questions  suggested,  pages  79-81). 
Then  prepare  a  blackboard  outline  merging  the  suggestions  of  the 
various  pupils.  Such  an  outline  if  well  done  could  be  mimeographed 
and  copies  mailed  to  the  health  officers  of  your  city.  (About  two 
lessons.) 

23,  24,  25.     Read  and  discuss  Section  X:    What  the  Police  Force  Does  For  Us, 

pages  82-95.  Have  special  reports  on  the  pupil's  survey  of  the  work 
of  the  police  and  debate  either  question  suggested  on  page  95.  (about 
three  lessons.) 

26,  27.  Set  up  the  discussion  of  Section  XI,  pages  97-103,  as  a  debate  on  the 

question:  Is  Our  Community  Safe  From  Fire?  (If  possible,  have  the 
excursion  suggested  on  page  103.) 

28,  29.  Spend  two  days  answering  the  question  set  up  as  the  heading  of  Section 

XII:  How  Do  Social  Organizations  Make  Public  Opinion  in  Ypur 
Community  ? 

30,  31,  32.  Read  and  discuss  Section  XIII:  The  Neivspapers  and  Public  Affairs, 
pages  115-130.  Devote  one  class  period  to  discussing  the  results  of  your 
SURVEY  of  newspapers  as  suggested,  pages  115,  116  and  121.  Make  a 
blackboard  list  in  a  third  class  exercise  in  which  you  suggest  how 
public  opinion  in  your  community  can  be  made  to  operate  more  effect- 
ively.   (Use  materials  in  both  Section  XII  and  XIII.) 

33,  34,  35.  Read  and  discuss  Section  XIV:  What  Kind  of  Citizens  Will  Your 
Schools  Make?,  pages  132-145.  Assign  for  investigation  and  report  by 
pupils  various  topics  on  education.  Debate  either  of  these  questions: 
Resolved,  that  every  child  should  be  compelled  to  attend  school  until  18 
years  of  age  or  until  graduation  from  high  school,  or  Resolved,  that 
public  education  is  so  important  that  we  should  spend  at  least  five 
billion  dollars  per  year  on  our  schools. 

36,  37,  38,     After  reading  and  discussing  Section  XV:    Hoiv  Can  American  Com- 

39.  munities  Govern  Themselves  Effectively?,  have  the  pupils  draw  up  a 
summary  outline  or  report  answering  the  question  of  this  Section  head- 
ing. Have  them  incorporate  in  this  report  the  results  of  their  study  of 
the  entire  pamphlet.  Debate  either  question  1  or  2,  page  167.  Then, 
as  a  final  review  exercise,  make  a  blackboard  list  of  specific  ways  in 
which  the  pupils  think  that  their  community  can  be  governed  more 
efficiently.  (Use  the  entire  pamphlet  for  the  blackboard  list.  Have 
the  pupils  copy  the  main  points  in  their  notebooks.) 

40.  Give  the  final  t§st  on  Toivn  and  City  Life  in  America. 


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